Isabella
by DistrictThirteenTribute
Summary: Isabella lost her parents when she was a child and now has to put up with her demanding stepmother and stepsisters. The Cinderella story using Twilight characters. Please read, MUCH better summary inside. Rated M for language.
1. Intro

**A/N: Hey everyone... so here's my first story. After reading this little intro, you'll understand what's it's fully about. Very used storyline I know, but I thought, 'I should give it a shot.' So here it is. **

**Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own Twilight, it belongs to Stephenie Meyer... =( **

Isabella

My name is Isabella Marie Swan. I allow people to call me Bella. However, the only person that actually does that is my best friend, Jacob Black.

My mother, Renee, died right after giving birth to me, so my dad, Charlie, raised me by himself. He was a lawyer so he had lots of money, but he promised that he would never put money before me. When I was six years old, he met a traveling photographer named Esme. They fell in love and a year later, they got married. I don't want to sound mean, but the only good thing about Esme was her beauty. Otherwise, she was a very ugly person. Of course she wouldn't show it in front of my dad but I knew she was evil. I could tell right off the bat that she didn't like me.

Along with Esme came her two daughters, Rosalie and Alice. Talk about like mother, like daughter! The only nice thing about them two were their looks. They weren't twins. In fact, they looked nothing alike. I've always thought that Rosalie and Alice had different fathers and that explained why they didn't share a single characteristic. But I would never ask Esme that because I knew that if I did, I was in for it.

When I was nine, I went through the worst thing that could ever happen to me. My father died in a plane crash while traveling to Dallas for a big case. Yes, he was that good a lawyer that people all over the country asked for him to help them with their case. At that moment, I knew my life was over. The only family I had was Esme, Rose, and Alice for crying out loud! If they treated me badly when my father was alive, how would they possibly treat me now that he was dead?!

Esme got everything my father had following his death. Everything from the house, to me, to, of course, his money. I later found out that the whole traveling photographer crap was just a set-up so my dad would fall in love with her, marry her, and eventually she would take all his money. So the fact that he died early into their marriage could not have made Esme happier. That gold-digging bitch.

A few months later, a new family moved into town. They were named the Cullens. In it were Dr. Carlisle Cullen and his sons Emmett, Jasper, and Edward. Now Esme, being the slut that she is, hooked up with Carlisle within the first month of his arrival.

As for his sons, we grew up with them. We went to the same junior high, graduated from there, and attended the same high school together. Or at least Rosalie, Alice, Emmett, Jasper, and Edward did. I wasn't really around them much since Esme always had me doing something so that I never got to spend time with them. Don't get me wrong, I did go to school and all that, but I never got to do anything fun during my high school life. And of course my "lovely" stepsisters, being who they were, never bothered to talk to their mom about me. I guess that I always had hope that they were different than Esme, but I had a feeling that Esme had trained them or something to make them hate me as much as she does.

One day back in freshman year, Rosalie and Alice came in through the front door screaming about something that they seemed to be ecstatic about. I was on my knees scrubbing each separate tile in the front hall while the two girls stepped over me as if I was not there.

"Mom! Mom!" They both yelled across the hall. Esme came out of her room demanding to know what was wrong.

After years of professional eavesdropping, (otherwise I would never know what is going on in their lives) I had managed to hear that after weeks of hesitation, Emmett had asked Rosalie out and Jasper asked Alice out. At this point they were showing the class rings the boys had given them to their mother. No one seemed to notice that I had stopped working, or else I knew I was bound to get yelled at. After a few minutes of hearing the girls recap everything to their mother, I had had enough and got back to work. It wasn't that I was mad or anything, it's just that I felt disappointment, from the boys. I mean, they're pretty nice guys. They were kind, handsome, and funny. Not to mention it was always Jasper and Emmett that would stop by the house and ask me if I wanted to hang out with them. But it was Esme that would answer for me saying that I had too much work to do, or I'm too behind on my schoolwork. But the only reason I ever was was because of all the work Esme had me do.

Rosalie and Alice are both straight A students. Or so they think. I know for a fact that Esme secretly fucks their male teachers when she thinks we're all asleep. Yeah that's right. Esme cheats on Carlisle. A lot. And the sad part is she doesn't even care. One night I saw her sneak in Rose's English teacher so they could "talk" about Rose's grades. As for the female teachers, well let's just say Esme loses money every time she comes back from a parent-teacher conference. I swear, sometimes I think that their teachers fail them on purpose.

So, anyway, back to the boys. I was just disappointed that those smart boys had chosen, of all the girls in town, Rosalie and Alice to be with. I think they deserved so much better. But oh well. I was sure that a few days into the relationship Jasper and Emmett would see what a terrible mistake they made.

But man, was I wrong.

**A/N: Okay so how was it? Since this is my first story, I will allow negative comments, just try not to make them too hurtful... I'm always open to suggestions. But seriously, if you don't like it, tell me and I'll just stop writing the story altogether. Okay maybe not, but now you would know what story to stay away from. Hope you enjoyed!**


	2. Welcome to my Life

**Alright well here's (the real) chapter one! Hope you enjoyed the Intro/Prologue/whatever you want to call it. Thanks so much to BLOODYHALFBLOOD for my first ever review! Keep them coming, guys! Remember, I'll accept anything respectful!**

**Disclaimer: Sorry, I don't own Twilight. If I did, trust me, I would NOT be living in this house... lol jk! I love my house.**

Welcome to my Life

Monday, May 4 6:32 AM

"ISABELLA!!!" : was the word that made me wake up. I didn't want to wake up that morning, to face another day of my life in hell. That was Esme yelling at me to get up so I could start my daily "routine" of thing I had to do before I even thought about leaving for school. For the past 11 years, my life has been like this. Every. Single. Day.

"You were suppose to be up two minutes ago. NOW GET UP! Start making breakfast. Oh and make sure the girls are up."

I rolled my eyes. That's another thing. The girls. Rosalie and Alice. I was responsible for the waking up of two of the most spoiled children on the planet. What was I, their nanny?

I heard footsteps rushing up to my room.

"Isabella, now!", Esme yelled into my room. I groaned and got out of bed. I didn't bother changing, I didn't do that until everything was dome. I stumbled out of my room and down the hall towards Princess Rosalie's bedroom. I always wondered why Rosalie stuck around. She's 18 so she could get a place of her own. Once, I asked her where she wanted to go to college. But she said she's not going to college, because she "doesn't know what she wants to be." She said that Emmett will one day marry her and take care of everything she'll need in life. But I think the real reason is that she likes that I do everything for her.

I walk into her room only to find her bed empty. I look around the room looking for her. That's when I heard the shower running. I let out a breath. My job here was done. I moved on to Alice's.

I knocked on her door and and when I heard her small voice say "come in", I opened her door to find her staring in the mirror holding up a dress she might wear to school today. I could hear "Decode" by Alice's favorite band "Paramore" playing from the speakers. I tried to sneak away before she saw me. But too late.

"Oh good morning Isabella!" She sounded peppy and cheery, nice even, but that's how she is. Unlike her sister and mother, Alice is one of those bitchy girls that give off the impression that they are nice. And then when you're alone with them, or in my case, get home, it's when you see what they are really like. I hate her because of that. Because she's the worst kind of bitch. The ones that act like they're not.

I slowly opened the door wider.

"Morning Alice." I responded. She turned back around to face the mirror and spoke.

"Could you do me a favor?" She asked before I had another chance to sneak away.

"Sure." I gave up. "What is it?"

"Would you mind printing out my history paper for me?" she asked.

"Um, Alice I can't print something out that has never been typed." I told her and that seemed to remind her that she had forgotten to do it.

"Oh right..." she looked like she was thinking of something. She smiled and asked. "Then could you be a dear and do it for me?" She wasn't really asking me to do anything, she was commanding me to do it. And if I refused, it wouldn't be long before Alice goes complaining to Mommy Dearest that I won't "help" her with her assignments. But still. It doesn't hurt to TRY to get out of doing it.

" But Alice it's due 3 period!" I used as an excuse.

She turned back to face me. "Well, then you better get started on it, don't you think?" And she turned back around. I sighed and left the room. I seriously don't understand why either one of them bothering doing any assignments. If they fail, Esme could simply sleep with their teachers again.

I headed down to the kitchen. This was probably the worst part of my day. Each one of them ate something different. And each had their own taste. So while Esme, Rosalie, and Alice had a breakfast made for a queen, I sat in the corner eating my cereal and milk, and quickly too so I could move on to making the everyone's bed. So far, my life rocks, doesn't it?

An hour later, everything was done and I could finally get ready to go. Of course I asked if there was anything else I could do, and thankfully, after pondering about it for 5 minutes, she let me go. I rushed upstairs and threw some clothes on. I'm not really into looking pretty for school. I know no one looks at me so there really was no point. The only boy I talk to is Jacob, my best and only friend. I met him in the school library in freshman year and we've been friends ever since. I'll admit: Jacob is a pretty good-looking guy. And except for the glasses, I'm surprised he doesn't have girls crawling after him. It might have something to do with the fact that he's the smartest kid in school and no teenage girl wants to be seen hanging around a major nerd like Jake. Except for me.

Jacob really is my sanctuary. I could tell him anything and I know he wouldn't tell anyone. But that's because he doesn't have anyone else to tell, but still. I'm sure that if he did have any other friends, he wouldn't tell a soul anything.

I heard my cell phone ring tone and quickly picked it up to see who it was. It was a text from Jacob.

It read, "I'm outside." I closed my phone, grabbed my bag and headed out my room. Jacob drives me to school every day, since I don't have my own car. I've got a license, just no car. Whereas on the other hand, Esme bought Alice her Porsche, and Rosalie her convertible. But that's okay. I would get a car when I saved enough to buy my own. I had Jacob. In return for him driving me, I promised that I would never make him late for school. Because according to Jake, being late for school would go on his record and it wouldn't be good for him.

As I was running down the stairs, I heard Rose and Alice's cars starting up and leave the garage. That meant Jake would be pulling in closer to the house right about...now. I ran across the front hall and I was feet away from the door when...

"Isabella?!" Damn it, Esme! I turned around.

"Yes?"

"I need you to go out and wash the girls' cars after school." She said to me while she was filing her nails. One of the many things I hated about her was the way she dressed. She must have been at least over 35 and still dressed like a 16 year-old. Esme was in great shape for whatever age she was, but still. It was weird to hear the girls call her "mom" when she sometimes looked like she was younger than them.

"Esme, I'm one person. I can't take both cars to the car wash at the same time." I explained to her.

"Isabella, whoever said anything about going to a car wash?" I understood what she meant and it showed on my face. "Right, so I'll need you to rush back here right after school." I closed my eyes and sighed deeply.

"Fine."

"Alright then. You can go." I angrily turned and rushed out the door to meet Jake.

"Finally!" I heard him cry out as I stepped into the car.

"I'm sorry Jacob. Esme was giving me another chore to do when I get home." He sighed as he started the car.

"I still don't see why you break your back doing all this crap for Esme, Bella." He told me as he pulled out of the driveway.

"I told you Jake. If I don't, I won't get any money for Dartmouth or a car." Yeah that's right. I want to go to Dartmouth College. I know it's an Ivy League school, and one of the most private in the country. But I think I can do it. That and also it's the farthest college away from Esme, Rose, and Alice. I never said that I'm a bad student or that I fail every class. I just said that it was harder for me to keep up. But, thankfully, I managed.

"Bella, don't worry about Dartmouth. You're going to get a scholarship or really good financial aid or something so you don't have to worry about the money. As for the car, you don't need one. I love driving you to and from school." He turned to me and flashed that huge smile that I loved. I smiled back.

"Thanks Jacob. But still, I have to. I don't want to risk it. No one said I'm getting a scholarship or anything and chances are, I won't. If anyone's getting a scholarship, it'll be you."

Jacob contemplated this. "Yeah..... probably." I could tell he didn't want to admit it, but he knew he would. He is valedictorian after all.

About 10 minutes later we were entering the parking lot of Summit High School. We were late and yet the parking lot was deserted.

"They must have sensed we were coming." I joked.

"That's not funny, Bells." Jacob said seriously.

"Sorry."

Jacob drove towards the only available parking spot left. He cut the engine, and we both got out of the car. Looking around the lot, Jacob's car stuck out like a sore thumb. The lot was full of shiny, fancy cars such as Rose and Alice's, which I spotted, right next to Jasper's, Emmett's, and Edward's. I suppose that was because Jacob's car used to be his late mother's and even when his father offered to buy him a new car for his sixteenth birthday, Jake refused. And Jake doesn't mind driving this car around. It's the only memory of his mom he's got left, and I respect that. Especially since I too, have lost my mom.

We walked across the parking lot. Jake went to hold the door for me so I could pass through.

"Thank you." I told him. He walked through and the door closed behind him.

**Okay well, what did ya think? You got to see how mean Alice can be, which for me sucks because Alice is one of my fave characters! And Esme! God, I hate her too! Jacob. Lol Jacob... How's that for everyone's favorite werewolf?! Please review!**


	3. Uncool In School

**Okay, I was rereading chapter 1 and I just noticed how many times I used the phrase, "But still,". I didn't notice that when I was typing... sorry about that! And another thing. There was a small mistake in the previous chapter. When Jacob and Bella get to school, they are NOT late. I noticed it said "we were late..." when it should say "we WEREN'T late...." so again sorry.. thought that might have confused some people.. Here's chapter 2. Enjoy.**

Uncool in School

Summit High School can sometimes be my personal hell.

Other times, it could be my heaven. My safe zone, you could call it. I realized at a very young age that school was the one place where I am free from Esme! She can't call me in school, because I can't leave the school, to go and do one of her ridiculous chores. And since the only form of contact Alice, Rosalie and I have is at home, I'm free from all of them during school hours.

But that doesn't mean I have time for a life.

Any spare moment I have in school, is spent doing or making up classwork. Unless I have time to do that at home, which is extremely rare. Today was one of those rare days, and thank God for that. Now I can do Alice's history paper, which I've just been dying to do! A 500 word essay on Julius Caesar, due by 11:30. It's 8:22.

"Earth to Bella!" I heard Jacob say and saw him waving his hand in front of my face.

"Oh sorry, Jake." He laughed.

"What are you thinking about now, Bells?"

I shook my head. "About how I have to type Alice's history paper for her. Due third period."

"Ahhhh come on Bella! I get why you have to do things for Esme, but the girls?!" Jacob said aggravated.

"Because it all goes back to Esme if I don't, and my punishment would be I won't get paid this week. Besides, those little brats are too lazy to do anything themselves, you know that." I explained to him as we were walking down the hall towards our lockers.

"Whatever." I heard him mumble. Sometimes Jacob can really piss me off. Even after I explain everything about living with the Terrible Three, he still doesn't really get it. He says he does, but I don't think he really understands. In reality, Jacob is really just like everyone else in this stupid town. A spoiled brat. But he knows not to remind me of it. He knows better than to make me feel bad.

We turned the corner and there came the reason why I consider school life my personal hell.

Walking down the hall came my least favorite people in the world, besides Esme, Rosalie, and Alice.

Leah Clearwater, Emily Young, and Tanya Denali. Otherwise known as the, you guessed it, those popular girls that EVERY school has. They don't really have an name to refer to them as a group, but you better know each one by their name. It's kind of like a threat to everyone else. But their worthless threats don't affect me.

Tanya is the latest addition to the clan. She came just two years ago into town and quickly fit in with Leah and Emily. No one really knows how since every girl has been dying to be friends with Leah and Emily since elementary school. Some people think that part of the reason is because they were looking for someone to replace the member of the club who had moved away. Her name was Jessica and I have to say, I actually liked her. Out of the three, she was the nice one. Tanya seemed to fit all of their qualifications and that's why as quick as a blink of an eye she was "in".

Emily is the hard one to understand. She's the dumb blond out of the three. And she's a brunette. When you look at her, she always seems to have a confused look on her face. Kind of like the one she's having right now, walking down the hallway. Her eyes squinted slightly and her lips pouted out. Most would call that look beautiful. Other, specifically Jacob and I, would call that look weird. I can't tell you the amount of laughs Emily has given us two! Emily does know what most people say about her behind her back, and that's where her inner bitch comes out. Her best form is blackmailing. She somehow knows everything about everyone, and will use it against them when she feels is right. She's evil, really evil.

But neither can compare to Leah Clearwater.

Leah's the leader. The Queen Bee of the hive. The Mean Girl in the movie. You get my point. She's the girl every girl wants to be. She kind of looks like that girl from the Transformers movies, only somehow even more beautiful. In a way, she's kind of like Alice, the undercover bitchy type. But 10 times worse. Believe it or not, Leah is captain of the track team, the fastest runner in school. Of course, you wouldn't know that just by looking at her. Her athletic ability is what I think caused her to get such a big head in the first place.

Leah wasn't always like that. She was actually kind to people in elementary school. Then the summer before seventh grade she went to visit her rich cousins for the first time and she came back totally different. The way she is now. But Leah Clearwater is not the kind of person you wake up and suddenly are. It took time for her to become the selfish, big-headed, conceited girl that she is. You might be thinking, "How do I know that?" The answer: Before Jacob came along, Leah and I were best friends. Hard to believe, right? That's why her change had the biggest effect on me. Because it was the last thing I needed: My one friend to abandon me.

Her father, Harry, is the owner of a chain of car dealerships all over Southern California. Which means Leah's family is filthy ri-ich! This also means Leah gets whatever she wants. And she'll get it easily. Except for one thing. Edward Cullen. She has been after Edward for such a long time I can't even remember. It's kind of sad actually. She's hoping for something that not even money can buy. Everyone knows about this, but no one dares to make fun of her for it. Edward knows too. But does he do anything about it? NO!

There is one more thing you should know about Leah Clearwater.

Jacob is madly in love with her.

"Leah wants me so badly." he said.

I snorted. "Jake, I don't think she's ever looked at you."

"Oh she has! I caught her looking at me in trig the other day." he replied proudly.

"Um. Jake that was me. You were just daydreaming."

"Oh...." He sighed disappointed. "Right."

We got to our lockers and opened them. " I honestly don't see why you waste your time drooling over a girl like Leah at all."

"The same reason you wasted your time falling for a guy like Mike Newton in the first place."

I turned to face him.

"That was different, Jacob."

"Uh huh." The warning bell rang. "CRAP! I should go. Bye Bells."

I rolled my eyes. "Bye Jacob"

Jake was out of sight in a matter of seconds and the hallway was clearing out. I grabbed the last few things I needed from my locker and closed it. The late bell rang. Damn it! I began running towards the stairs. Then I tripped and fell. Well, there goes my streak of number of days without falling.

My stuff was scattered all over the floor and as I rushed to pick it up, I heard footsteps approaching. I didn't bother looking up since that person would most likely not even stop. However, that person did stop.

"Do you need some help?" I heard an unfamiliar voice say.

I looked up to see who this mystery person was.

"Oh. Hi." I spoke in a small voice as I stood up. Once we were eye to eye, Edward Cullen kneeled down to pick my pen up from the floor.

"Oh no...that's okay...you don't have to..." He got up with the pen in his hand.

"Um... okay thanks." Now what? I couldn't just walk away and leave. That would be rude. Good thing Edward spoke first.

"Isabella, right?" He asked.

"Yeah. You're... Edward."

"Yeah. You're Rosalie and Alice's sister." He said nodding his head.

"**Step**sister... But yeah." It shouldn't surprise me he knew who I was. He was the girls' boyfriends' brother after all.

"So how come you never hang out with us or your stepsisters?", He asked. Well, _that_ wasn't random.

"Oh you know... I'm just always busy...doing something... So I don't really have time to do much." Like he really needs to know!

"Oh...okay." For some reason, my answer seemed to confuse him.

"Yeah well um... I should go. I'm late for my first class." I began walking away from him. Actually, I had free period now. Haha!

"Yeah sure... See you around Isabella."

"Um... uh huh." I said and ran upstairs. What a weird guy.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

An hour later, the bell rang for my next class. Chemistry, one of my favorites. I had spent my free period in the library typing Alice's report and thankfully, I finished it in time. Now, I had five minutes to find her, give it to her, and be in my next class. And I had to do it now because I wouldn't have time to do it at the end of this class.

I found her quite easily. It didn't take long at all. But there were certain conditions on why I couldn't approach her. She was leaning on her locker talking to Jasper. They were holding hands and would sometimes lean in to kiss. I could see Alice smile at something Jasper had said.

I couldn't interrupt them.

It wasn't a rule Alice and Rose had set or anything. I just choose to do that. It really affected me to see Alice with Jasper and Rose with Emmett. It was like they were two different people. If I didn't already know Rosalie and Alice, I would say they were the nicest people on the world by the way they act when they're with Emmett and Jasper.

I wouldn't interrupt because I knew that the second I did, they would go back to being their normal selves.

But seriously, could they take any longer?! They would see each other later. I only had two minutes until the bell rang. But I really didn't want to interrupt them! If I did, "Don't bother me when I'm with Emmett/Jasper", was bound to become my latest rule to follow.

I had fifty seconds. If I started running now, I could make it to chemistry with fifteen seconds left.

Yeah, that's what I would do. Sorry Alice. Some things are a little more important to me than getting **your** reports in on time.

**Okay just so everyone's aware, this chapter was originally going to be longer but I had to cut it short because I'm leaving on vacation tomorrow I wanted to leave with this chapter completed and ready for it to be read. I'm just going to continue with what was going to happen in the next chapter. But for now, please review! Good or bad, you know I don't care. I want your honest thoughts. Thanks! =)**


	4. What a Surprise

**Okay guys I really do appreciate all the views and alerts towards the story. But I really want some more reviews! I really want to know what you guys think of the story. There's almost 300 views and only 7 reviews. Thanks to those of you who have reviewed *cough* Thuanny *cough* but I would appreciate some more. Don't be scared because I've made it pretty clear that I don't care if it's a good or bad review... Okay I'll stop complaining. Enjoy chapter 3!**

**"**ooooOOOOoooo Alice is going to be pissed at you..." Jacob was telling me after I explained the story to him when we met up after third period to head to lunch.

"Shut up Jake! Don't you think I already know that?!"

He shrugged. "But I don't understand. If you had the chance, why didn't you just give it to her?"

"Because she was with Jasper." I replied.

"So what?!?!" he asked back confused.

"So I don't like to interrupt either one of them when they're with the boys."

"Why not?" He asked back with the same tone as before.

Now at the bottom of the stairs, I turned on him. "You know what Jake? For a smart guy, you're asking a lot of questions." I continued walking towards the lunchroom and left Jacob standing there.

"Yeah well, I became smart by asking questions!" He ran to meet me and we walked in together. For the rest of the day, there is only one objective: Stay as far away from Alice as possible. Entering the lunchroom, I didn't even bother looking towards their usual table. I didn't want to look at any of them, especially after my encounter with Edward in the hallway. I still don't get what all that was about.

Jacob and I went to get our lunch and proceeded to sit at our usual table. The small circular one in the corner with the unbalanced table and old seats. The only reason we had that one was because everyone else took all the good ones and that would normally be the only one left. I usually sat with my back to the window for a full view of the room. And the perfect view of the Cullen table. But this time, I demanded Jacob switch with me.

"Jacob sit here." I said tapping the back of my seat.

"Why?"

"Please!"

"But Bella, I don't see why-"

"JUST DO IT!" I yelled as I pulled his shirt in the direction of my seat. He plopped down on the chair. I sat down on his seat calmly. I bent my head down and started eating. Jacob looked at me weirdly.

"Would you mind explaining what's up?"

"I just don't want to have a view of their table."

"Because of Alice?" He asked.

I nodded. "And... other things."

"What happened?" He asked with a worried/anxious look on his face. I decided to tell him about my meeting with Edward. It wasn't that important but I figured, as my friend, he should know.

"Well, after you left for your class, as you know, I stayed at my locker." Jacob nodded, signaling for me to keep going. "Well, I stayed so long that the late bell rang and as I was walking towards the stairs I tripped and-" Jacob burst out laughing.

I gave him an angry look.

"Sorry!" He said in between laughs. "It's funny."

I sighed and continued with my story. 'Well, anyway all of my stuff fell and I was reaching to get them when...someone came up to me." Jacob looked interested again. I spoke again.

"Edward Cullen came up to me."

Jacob's eyes widened. "_Edward Cullen _came up to you?" I nodded, not seeing what the big deal that it was. Then Jacob looked at me like I was making it up. "Yeah okay! One of the most sought after guys at Summit High came up to you?!"

Suddenly, I understood.

"No Jacob, it wasn't like that!" I told him.

"Oh!"

"No! He didn't come up to me because... No, he wanted to help me with my stuff."

"Okay..." Jacob said just as confused as I was when I was living it.

"Yeah. He picked up my pen and then started asking me how come I never hang out with him and his brothers and Rose and Alice. It was weird."

"What the hell...?"

"I know."

"Well, what did you do? What did you say?"

"Well, I couldn't just walk away. That would be rude. I just stood there answering his question and then left."

"Did he say anything else?" Jacob replied.

"He said, 'See you around Isabella.' and I went up the stairs. And that was it."

"I've always thought that kid was weird. I mean, he's related to the boys dating your sisters." At that I had to laugh. "But.. tell me the truth." He said suspiciously. "You liked it didn't you?"

Now it was my turn to be confused. "Why on Earth would you think that? I barely know him!"

"Because the majority of girls at this school want Edward Cullen. And you know that deep down inside you want him too."

I shook my head. "Well Jacob, I'm not like most other girls at this school."

"Ha!" Jacob exclaimed. "Don't I know it!"

The topic of Edward Cullen ended there and we moved on to talking about our finals and how much we had to study for them. Or at least, that's what Jacob was talking about. I wasn't really paying any attention to what he was saying since I would end up studying whenever I had time. I was just thinking about what Alice would say when we get home. I know for a fact that the first thing she'll do is go straight to Esme and tell her about what I did, or better said didn't do. And the second I enter the house I would be yelled at. And now I just remembered I was due to wash cars as soon as I got home. Hand washing cars. How lovely.

"...but it's the History final I'm really nervous about, because if I don't-. Bella? Bella? Hello? BELLA!"

"What? Oh, sorry."

"Have you been listening to a word I said this whole time?" I asked me. I could feel the pain in his voice.

"Um. Sorry Jake, no."

He sighed. "Typical."

"I'm sorry Jake, it's just that... I'm worried about what will happen when I get home."

"See, if you weren't doing all of this for them you wouldn't be worrying about stuff like that."

"I know."

"Woah!"

My head shot up. "What?!"

"Alice looks... woah!"

"Jacob, you're not going to tell me you think Alice looks hot in her outfit again are you?"

"No." He replied, shaking his head. "But if I were you, I would sleep with one eye open from now on."

"Why?" I asked him as I turned in my seat to look in the direction he was looking at. He was looking right at the Cullen table. Specifically at Alice. He was right. I should watch my back from now on. Alice looked absolutely livid. As if she were going to kill someone in the next few minutes. I could tell it took all the power in her small body to keep her from getting up and wringing my neck right now. I saw her tiny hands curled up into tight fists and her knuckles turned ten times paler than they normally were.

She was sitting in the middle of the five of them, right next to... Edward. With his golden eyes and lightly bronzed hair and his defined arms. He looked so... calm in comparison to Alice who looked like she was about to lose control.

I turned back around to face Jacob. "Okay listen Jake, right after the final bell rings, you have to run for your car okay? Because I just know that Alice will want to confront me as soon as possible. I'll need you to take me home as fast as you can. I know I'm in for it when I get home, but let's try to delay that for as long as possible, okay?"

"Sure thing. I'll help you out Bella." He agreed.

"Thank you." I said to him, now looking really nervous.

Once school is over, things are going to get very difficult.

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The final bell rang. And sure enough when I got outside Jacob was waiting with the car running for me to get inside. I jumped into the front eat and told him to drive.

"Go, go!" I glanced to the side and saw Alice and Rose saying bye to Emmett, Jasper, and Edward, and get into their cars. Jacob in his old Volkswagen Bug with be no match against Alice in her Porsche. Her and Rose were going to get home before I did, there was no doubt about that. Let's just hope I got there before she got the chance to explain anything to Esme.

As fast as Jacob's car could go, we made it to my house in fifteen minutes. I saw Alice's and Rosalie's cars in the opened garage and prayed Esme wasn't home. I got out of the car.

"Good luck!" I heard Jacob wish me from the driver's seat.

"Thanks!" I yelled back.

I ran up the front steps and stuck my key into the knob, turned it and went in. I was going to go upstairs to see if they were all gathered in Esme's bedroom. But before I could take a step in any direction, I heard my name.

"Isabella!" I heard the sound of Esme's voice.

"Yes?" I replied as confident as I could.

"Could you come into the dining room for a second?"

"O-okay." I walked across the front hall and turned left at the plant and entered the dining room. There with a glass of wine in one hand and her fingers tapping the table with the other sat Esme. And, as if they were her cronies, stood Alice and Rosalie on either side of her. Alice looked pleased, the total opposite of how she looked at lunch today. Rosalie looked bored, and you could tell that she really didn't want to be here.

"Hello." Esme spoke to me with an expressionless face.

"Hi."

"How was school today?" She asked in the same tone as before. I was shocked by her question. She never asks me how my day went.

"Good. It was fine."

"Good, that's good." She said, taking her eyes away from my for the first time since I entered the room. The tension in the room was grand.

"So I heard there was an... issue between you and Alice today." Oh no. Here we go.

"Do you want to tell her? You know, get your made-out story out of the way." Alice spoke to me.

"No that's okay Alice. I'm informed enough of the story myself." Esme told her daughter while tapping her hand. "So let's just get to the point, shall we? Isabella, why didn't you help Alice with her report?"

"Well, I just have to say and Alice can't deny this because it is the truth, Alice had forgotten that her paper was due today so obviously she didn't get to do any of it." With each word I spoke, the smirk wiped off Alice's face. And surprise grew on Rosalie's. But it wasn't surprise for what Alice had done. It was for standing up for myself, something I rarely did. Out of the three, Rose was the one who truly underestimated me. She didn't think I could do much with my life.

"So this morning when I went to check if she was up, she asked me if I could do it for her. Despite the short amount of time, I agreed. And then went about the rest of my time before going to school. Once I get to school, my first period is free period and I took that time to go to the school library and do what Alice asked of me." I took a breath to keep going but Esme took this time to interject.

"So this paper does exist? You did do it?" She asked.

"Uh huh. I have it right here." I pulled the report out of my backpack. Rosalie went around the table to snatch it out of my hand. Anything to get this over with for her. She went to hand it to Alice. She skimmed it quickly and flipped through the pages. I could tell she was satisfied it was done, but still angry she couldn't have had it in her hands earlier. She dropped it on the dining table.

"But this still doesn't explain why you didn't give it to me as soon as it was done." She said sharply. The three of them turned on me waiting to her my response to this one.

"As soon as I was done, it was second period. And as you two know," I pointed at Alice and Rose. "we have five minutes between each class. Three of them were spent looking for you Alice. And then when I finally found you, you... you were with Jasper." Alice looked down. She must have remembered this moment of her day. "And I just didn't want to interrupt. I know it sounds stupid now-"

"Really stupid." I heard Rosalie mumble.

I went on as if I hadn't heard her. "But I just didn't want to interrupt you two." Alice's expression was difficult to understand. It was like a mixture of guilt and annoyance.

Esme raised her eyebrows. She was upset with both Alice and me. Rosalie just looked happy that her name wasn't mentioned at all in this story. Now that I was done, I just felt relief.

"Well, I think that a punishment is in order for the two of you." Esme finally spoke. For Alice, she might take away her car or her credit cards for a few days. For me, she would give me some chore that she knew I would not like at all. Who has it worse? You be the judge.

"Alice. You won't receive allowance for two weeks and you won't be allowed to use your credit cards for one. But you may use cash. So hand them over." Alice looked upset but she knew it was fair for making me do her work for her. She reached into her bag, pulled out her wallet, and handed Esme her credit cards.

"Thank you. As for you Isabella... you can clean the attic. Spotless." My mouth dropped. The attic was probably the worst place to clean. I hated it up there. Since the attic is the size of one of the floors but is not split into rooms, it would take forever to clean all of it. Because let me just say, our house is BIG! Up in the attic it's also cold and dark so you can tell way I hate going up there.

But I would have to do it. The bright side is that once it's done, I won't have to do it for another year. That's how often I clean the attic. And I haven't done it this year yet, so now would be a good a time as any.

"Okay." I finally responded. Rosalie straightened herself up. She knew this conversation was over.

"Alright," Esme responded, "then get to- Oh wait a minute." Me, Rose, and Alice both looked at Esme. She crossed her arms. "Didn't you have a chore to do when you got home Isabella?"

"Oh right." She had just reminded me of washing the girls' cars.

"You can clean the attic tomorrow. Do what I asked of you this morning right now. Girls," She turned her chair to face the girls, "Isabella will wash your cars today. They look filthy and I don't know when you washed them last."

This seemed to cheer the girls up for some reason. Rosalie's face lit up and Alice being bouncing up and down.

"Umm.. Actually mom," Rosalie began, "We need the cars. We have to go to the mall."

"Oh?" Esme asked.

"Let me explain mom." Alice spoke up. "Edward, you know Edward, Jasper and Emmett's brother. Well, he's having a party. For his birthday. His eighteenth birthday. And obviously we're invited. Rose and I. It's not until next month but you know teens these days. The second they find out about a party the first thing they want is to pick out a good outfit and if we wait until everyone finds out all the good clothes will be gone. So we want to go now."

"Edward's party huh? Carlisle didn't say anything to me."

"Oh he will." Rosalie butt in. "The boy weren't suppose to say anything, not even to us, but they did. But don't worry mom. Carlisle was going to tell you."

"Oh. Okay then."

"So Edward's having a party?" I asked for reassurance.

Rosalie answered me. "Not that it's any of your business, but yes. He is. So mom, can we go?"

"Yes of course. Just don't be out too late."

"We won't. Promise." Both girls went to kiss their mom on the cheek and headed out the door.

"Well, don't just stand there Isabella!" Esme yelled once the girls had left. "Get to work on the attic!"

"Okay."

Edward Cullen had been brought up a lot recently. First, he comes up and talks to me. Now I find out that he's throwing a party.

**Okay I am shocked by the length of this chapter! I didn't think it would be this long when all this was in my head. I don't know how long the rest of the chapters will be but I don't think any longer than this. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, and once again PLEASE REVIEW!**


	5. It Doesn't Mean Anything

**Okay guys 11 reviews.. that's not bad! I really shouldn't complain. It's better than nothing. Here's chapter 4. Hope you enjoy! =) **

**Disclaimer: I stopped putting this for some reason. I don't own Twilight. Never have, never will.**

Within a week, rumors spread through school about Edward's party.

Within two weeks, it was confirmed. On that day, the whole school went a bit chaotic. This small town of ours didn't receive many parties. And when we do, it has to be big and extravagant, the qualities of an unforgettable party. The last party to be that big was Leah's Sweet Sixteen. Speaking of Leah, she was one of the people most excited for Edward's party. Probably _the_ most excited.

When she first heard the rumor, she couldn't wait to have it confirmed. But, being Leah, she wasn't just going to sit back and wait. Hell no. She went right to the source. She went to Edward.

"Hi Edward!" Jacob and I could hear her voice from across the hallway. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh hello." Edward greeted back in a surprised tone. This would be good. Edward is normally and pretty nice guy. But whenever Leah tries to talk to talk to him, he ends up giving a bit of an attitude to her. Then again, who wouldn't? Leah could be REALLY annoying when she wants to be. Since Leah's so madly in love with him, she never really seems to notice.

"So umm.. I heard you were throwing a party. For your birthday." Leah had followed Edward from the front door of the school to his locker which he was now opening.

"Yeah. So?" He questioned back.

"Well, umm.." Leah put her flirty voice on, " I was just wondering if it was true."

Edward slammed his locked shut. "Yeah it's true."

"Awesome!" She exclaimed, " So umm.. this might sound a little forward, but I wanted to know if me, Emily, and Tanya were invited. Because you know, it's not a party unless we're there!" I raised my eyebrows. Really, Leah?

Edward looked to the floor as if thinking of something smart to say.

"Leah, would you mind if I asked you a question?"

"No problem!" Leah put on a confident smile.

"You're... very popular, right? And you basically rule the school, right?" This question confused her a bit, but she nodded anyway. I hadn't noticed it before, but it seemed as if everyone on this floor was listening in on Leah and Edward's conversation. Emmett, Rosalie, Alice and Jasper weren't anywhere in sight. "Okay, so my real question is: who decided that? Is it some rule written somewhere in the school handbook? Or did you just make that up because that's the only thing brown-colored head is good for? Making up ridiculous rules about whose in charge at this school that you think everyone else has to follow. See, the last time I checked, this was a school, and it isn't ruled by a dictator. Get it, Leah? You're not the dictator. You're not in charge here."

The look on Leah's face was one I will **never** forget.

"Well. You could have just said no." She managed to get out before turning around and walking away. The giggles and snickers from the other students were very clear and could be heard loudly through the otherwise empty hallway. Leah looked pissed off. As if no one has ever offended her that way before. But if anyone could do it and get away with it, it would be Edward. By now, she was probably off complaining to Emily and Tanya about what Edward had done to her. And she was most likely over exaggerating. The next thing probably be to think of some kind of plan for them three to be able to sneak in. Because Leah stays very true to her philosophy: It's not a party if they aren't there.

I have to admit. Of all the years I've known Edward, he never really seemed like one to stand up for himself like that. I always thought he was the 'quiet one' of his brothers. The 'shy guy'. Apparently, there's a lot more to him then meets the eye. And even if he was tall and handsome and spoke with a strong, authoritive voice you would never think of Edward Cullen as a threat.

Edward Cullen

Edward Cullen

Edward Cullen...

"Who the hell does that guy think he is anyway?!" Jacob's voice brought me back to reality.

"Huh?" I said softly, but he couldn't hear me.

"Edward Cullen..."

"What?!" I jumped a little at the sound of his name.

"He can't just talk back to her like that! To Leah! She's powerful, she's in a powerful family, you know! Her dad owns like a million car dealerships!" And there goes Jake, talking about how great Leah is again.

"Well, Edward's dad's a doctor. I think that requires a little knowledge."

"So?! Knowing stuff isn't everything Bella!" Jacob snapped back to me.

"Look who's talking!" I yelled at him and walked away.

I hate to say it, but I think there may be something wrong. Something out of the ordinary. Jacob and I don't usually fight like this. Or this often. And this morning on the drive here, it was really quiet in his car. Almost as if there wasn't anything to say. Usually, we're a couple of chatterboxes.

This all started the day Edward came up and spoke to me. Jacob and I wouldn't have talked about him at lunch, I wouldn't have been thinking about him all afternoon and then I might have not heard Rose and Alice talk about his party. And we might not have had to heard Leah confront him about it, and we wouldn't have gotten into this other mess.

I think it's pretty clear what's going on. And I think I know the answer to solve out problem. Jacob and I should go out. Not like on a date. Just two friends going to the movies or to dinner. One who happens to be a boy and the other is a girl. But that shouldn't matter. People do it all the time. And it's been a while since Jake and I did that. Mostly because of Evil Esme.

One of the rare, nice things about Esme though, is she gives me Fridays free. But there is a catch. Since I never get to do anything for myself without there being something in it for her first. But if I'm lucky, and I mean really lucky, and she's in a good mood, she just give me the night off. With nothing in return. So pretty much the only time I truly get to myself, totally liberated, are Friday nights. And I love spending them with my best friend, Jacob. This works out great actually. Since I haven't had one in a while, Esme's bound to give me one for this week!

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After my first class, I tried to track down Jake so I could talk to him. I caught him right before he went into his History class.

"Hey Jake, wait up!" I called out. He stopped but I could tell he was unreluctant.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Okay look, I know you're probably a little pissed off at me for being mean to you lately and I know we've been having some issues for some reason. But I want you to know I want to make it up to you."

"Okay?" Jake replied. Damn. He really didn't seem in the mood to talk to me.

"Alright. How about you and me go out on Friday night? You know, like good old times."

Jake squinted his eyes and looked like he was thinking about it. I held my breath, hoping that when he spoke it would be something good

"Would Esme let you out?" I smiled.

"Yeah. She would. I haven't gone out in a really long time so she's going to let me go."

Jacob smiled. It wasn't the big one that I liked, but at least it was genuine.

"Okay." He nodded. "I'll go."

"Alright great! Then I'll see you later." I turned around and headed towards my next class.

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When I got home I asked Esme about Friday. Just as I thought, Esme let me go, and with no condition. She said she was in a very good mood. Hmm.. maybe the sex she was getting these days was really good. I called Jacob to tell him the good news, but then I had to get back to work.

I was thinking about what movie we could go watch. What good movie was out these days? I wouldn't know. I haven't gone out to the movies in almost a year. Ehh it didn't matter, I guess. If it was really bad Jacob and I could just start throwing popcorn and candy at the screen. Like we did every time we thought a movie was bad. And sometimes the other people in the theater would join in.

I wonder what Rosalie and Alice were doing on Friday. Esme told me that they were going out on Friday night as well. '_Oh well that's good' _I thought when she first told me._ 'God knows what you could do with this big-ass empty house all to yourself.' _They were probably going to go out with Emmett and Jasper, like they always do. And then that got me thinking.

When the four of them go out, what becomes of Edward? I'm pretty sure he wouldn't just tag along on their double dates. I would think he would feel a bit like a fifth wheel. Maybe he stays home. That's sad. And what if Carlisle isn't home? He sometimes works night shifts. That would mean he leaves Edward all alone in their mansion. Or maybe he does go along with his brothers. But that sounds really stupid. I mean, he would probably feel very left out, considering Emmett's got Rose and Jasper's got Alice.

I think Edward needs a girlfriend. Maybe not even that. Maybe just a date or two with the same girl. To see how he likes it. And then if he does, maybe he would be ready for a long term relationship. Because if there's one thing that's certain, it's that the Cullen boys are great at commitment. Jasper and Emmett have been with Alice and Rose for almost four years now! And there was I thinking one or two weeks and they would be done with those girls!

But you can't just put any girl with Edward Cullen. It obviously has to be someone good enough for him. Someone up to his standards. It DEFINITELY can't be someone like Leah. Lord knows what would happen if that disaster were ever to occur. No, he doesn't even like Leah. At least, I hope so. I-I mean, I think so. Edward should go out with someone whose Leah's total opposite. Take... me, for example. I'm intelligent, I'm nice 99 percent of the time (but I won't be if you get me really pissed off), and when I wake up in the morning, the first thing I think about is not what outfit I'm going to wear. I'm very...real. And that's the kind of girl Edward needs. Someone real.

But definitely not me.

Edward doesn't like me. Just because he came to help me in the hallway doesn't mean anything. Does it? No, it means nothing. He only noticed me because I was the only person in that hallway, and he was being a gentleman. He is a Cullen, after all. And he said so himself, he knows me just because I'm the stepsister of his brothers' girlfriends. But still, he didn't have to try to make conversation with me. Besides in my opinion, I really wasn't being all that kind to him at that time. So that must have been a turn off for him.

Yeah that's it. Edward doesn't like me. Which is really good. Because I don't like him.

Right?

No. No, I can't and don't like Edward Cullen. Just because I've spent the last half hour thinking of him and thinking who his perfect girl would be, doesn't mean I like him. I'm just being...caring. Like I always am. There's no way I could fall for someone so...sweet, and kind, and tall, and handsome. Someone with a nice soft velvet voice and really funny. With a sparkle in those golden eyes of his and bronze colored hair, which always looks messy but yet looks so perfect. And pale skin that would normally make me want to throw up, but on Edward it looks right. Like the icing on a cake. A really beautiful cake. As if it's a piece of art. A beautiful, flawless piece of art. Named Edward Cullen.

**Ooookay! So what did you think? You know what I'm going to say about the reviews. They're greatly appreciated and make me very happy! =) What's it gonna cost you to click that nice green button? Nothing. It won't bite. Lol! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! **


	6. Courageous Chicken

**Alright guys I hope you liked Bella's last thoughts at the end of chapter 4! I would think it's pretty clear right now what Bella's feelings towards Edward are... Here's capitulo cinco!! **

**Disclaimer: yeah yeah I know Twilight doesn't belong to me... belongs to Stephenie... blah blah blah...**

As soon as I was in the safety of my room, I grabbed my phone and punched in Jacob's number. I had to tell him about Edward. He's my best friend. I couldn't keep that information from him.

Okay fine! I admit it. I have a massive crush on Edward Cullen. And even though nobody knows about it...doesn't mean anyone besides me and Jacob ever will. I mean, what good what come out of it? If Edward were to find out about it, what would happen? Nothing. He'd still treat me the same as ever before. Just going around ignoring me like everyone else in my lame-ass school does. It would mean nothing to him. Half the girls in school are already ripping their hair out over him. I'm not going to be like one of them though. Just because I like one of the most attractive guys at Summit High doesn't mean I'm going to go crazy and fall madly in love with him. Because of there's one thing Isabella Marie Swan doesn't do, it's make a fool out of herself over some boy who probably has got nothing but good looks. Even though I know has got more than that.

So I dial in Jacob's number and after a couple of rings, he picks up.

"Hello?"

"Oh hey Jake!"

"Hey Bella." What should I say? I don't know what to say! How should I lead this on? I can't just randomly come out and say it. Ooo I know!

"Bella...? Are you daydreaming over the phone again?"

"Ah no sorry Jake."

"'S okay."

"So, umm.. Jacob. I called you..."

"Yes, I can see that."

I went on. "...Because I needed to tell you something. Something important."

Silence came from the other line.

"Okay. Shoot." he replied. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I felt like I couldn't tell him. "Yes?"

"Umm..." What was I going to do? I couldn't keep him hanging. But yet, I didn't want to tell him. Because if I did, it would mean admitting he was right.

And I hate when Jacob's right. He'll never let you forget it, and since this is a personal matter... I don't even want to think of how bad it will be. It'll probably be ten times worse than when I told him I had a crush on Mike Newton in sophomore year. Yeah, since it's Edward, it _will _be ten times worse.

"Jacob? You still there?"

"Yep, I'm still here. Waiting for you. Because I don't have important finals to study for!"

"Okay Jake, sorry! I just wanted to tell you -to remind you actually- that the project for Mr. Banner is due next Wednesday." Yeah, I think that's a good enough cover story.

"Bella, I don't mean to sound like an ass, but don't you think I know that?! I've only been working on that project for the past month!" Oh my God, Jacob.

"Well, I just thought I'd remind you. Okayyou'rewelcomebye!"I quickly hung up without giving him the final word. I know I should probably tell him. And I will. Someday. Tomorrow. I'll tell him tomorrow.

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Just as I was the door behind me, Jacob honked his car horn. He was really getting on my nerves, I only got his message that he was outside two minutes ago.

"Alright, alright I'm going!" I yelled towards the car.

I stepped into the passenger seat and found Jacob looking straight ahead through the windshield. He seemed...tense.

"Jake? Something wrong?" He didn't seem to have heard me.

He turned his head and looked at me. "Morning Bella. Yes I'm fine. But are you?" I was confused.

"Umm.. yeah I'm fine." I assured him.

"Are you sure? Is there anything you'd like to talk about? Because you know, I'm your friend. I'll always be here if you want to talk." I already knew all this. What was wrong with Jake?

"I'm fine. Really I'm sure."

"Well, okay it's just that I was thinking about your phone call last night." Oh crap. "And I realized that you _must _ have had something important to say. The project thing was just some lame excuse. Am I right?"

"Ummm..."

"I knew it." Jacob started the car and pulled out of the driveway. "So Bella whatever it is, you can tell me. It doesn't matter."

I gulped. Damn, was it really the obvious that I was hiding something? What if Jacob already knows?! Well, he does suspect. I did say I was going to tell him today anyway. Might as well get it over with.

"As a matter of fact Jake, there is something I would like to talk to you about."

I saw him grin. "Go ahead."

"This is a little hard to say. I- I like someone Jacob." I stopped here to give him time to gloat and say 'Told you so!' but he never did. He just slightly rose his eyebrows. It didn't seem like I was going to get any other reaction out of him.

"And I guess by my akaward phone call last night, you might know who it is." I looked at Jake, who really didn't look like he was going to say anything. "Well, if you don't, it's someone in our grade, and he means a lot to me. It's someone I can't believe I would ever fall for. For me, it's a major surprise. I think you probably know already. It's actually not that hard to figure out. But by the look on your face, it looks like you already did."

Now I felt bad. I think the reason Jacob's acting like this isn't because of the fact that I like Edward. If that were it, he would have a huge smirk on his face and he would be bragging about how right he was. I think he feels bad because I chickened out of telling him in the first place. Aww Jake, you big softie.

"Jake, can you say something? The silence is killing me."

Jacob let out a sigh. "Well, I can't say I didn't see it coming." I knew it. " I mean, it was going to happened eventually but I didn't think it would be so soon. I guess... well... it's fine I guess." He's right, I think in time I was bound to fall for Edward. He, Emmett, and Jasper come over to the house a lot. I see him most of the time. "I guess things are just going to be a little different between us." Jacob went on. I don't think they'll be. It's not like I'm going to constantly talk about Edward all day long like those other girls. I'll just keep my comments about him to myself.

"I should have figured it out though. The first time you called me is when I should have known."

"Huh?"

"I get it now. When you said we should spend more time together. You were asking me out."

"Wait, WHAT?!?!"

"Bella," He lightly chuckled. That douche! "It's okay that you like me. I mean, we're best friends. It was likely to happen sometime." I really wish that Jacob could be looking at my face right now and not the road, because I was damn sure it was priceless. It was a look of absolute shock.

"Jacob, you dumbass! It's not you I like! It's Edward!"

"OH!" Wow, did Jacob feel stupid now. "So, you don't like me as anything more than a friend?"

"NO! Gosh Jake! Please, you're my best friend! I don't think of you like that."

"Oh so you think of Edward like that?" Oh no. Here's where it starts. I wasn't looking at him but I could feel the smirk coming on his face.

"Now Jake don't start! This is the reason I chickened out on telling you last night."

Jacob roared with laughter. "Why?"

"Because I knew you would act like...like this."

"Like how?"

"Like this! All cocky and bragging about how you already knew and I just couldn't handle it from you."

"Bella, come one, so what if you like Edward Cullen? I'm not going to tease you because of it. It's fine really, and yes I mean it. I won't tease you about it. Maybe every once in a while. But it won't be as horrible as Newton."

"Okay, whatever you say." I really didn't believe Jake that much. How would I know that Jake won't enter the school and scream at the top of his lungs, "ISABELLA SWAN LOVES EDWARD CULLEN!!"

Okay, so maybe he won't do that. But Jacob will tease me about it. He won't be able to help himself.

We pulled into the school parking lot and walked towards the door. I had prepared myself for this. This would be my first time going into school since admitting I'm crushing on Edward. How would things go today? Will I see him at all? What if the same thing happens as the first time he approached me? Would I actually be able to say something, or would I just stand there babbling like an idiot?

"So Bella let me ask you. Are we still on for Friday? Or are you going to be too busy daydreaming about Edward you won't even remember where the movie theater is?" He laughed.

"Shut up Jacob!" I demanded as I turned red. We walked to my locker where he continued to laugh.

"But seriously though. Are we?"

"Yeah of course. What do you want to watch?" I asked him.

"I was thinking that new Katherine Heigl movie. She looks pretty hot in those trailers."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, Katherine Heigl is beautiful."

"Yeah, but not as beautiful as..." Oh God. And sure enough, here came Leah walking down the hallway. I can't help but to mentally laugh at Jake whenever Leah passes by. He's like a lovesick puppy. He's so in love with her, but won't ever say anything. And up to this day, I still don't get what he sees in her.

"Jacob, why don't you ever talk to Leah? That could possibly be the first step in getting her to notice you, don't you think?"

"Bella, I do not need to stoop so low. I'm just going to sit back relax and wait until Leah makes the first move. After all, 83% of boy think it's sexy when the girl makes the first move." Jake raised his eyebrows. I practically burst out laughing. When Jacob says these things, I'm really not sure if he means them or not. Does he actually think Leah likes him, or is he just fooling himself?

I shook my head. "Jake, you're delusional."

"And speaking of girls who make the first move...."

"Jacob, don't!"

"What'd I do?!"

"I'm not going to do anything about Edward. He's... off-limits. I can't have him, no matter how much I want to." Jake looked at me disappointingly.

"And why do you say that?"

"Because Jacob, I'd be just as delusional as you to think a guy like him could ever like a girl like me!" I almost yelled at him. "My life is spent working for my step family. I get up at the crack of dawn every morning to wait on their hand and foot. I don't have a car, I've got no time for a personal life. I'm saving pennies at a time to go to the college of my dreams, which with the amount of shit I've got to do, I doubt I'll get into. While in the meantime, Edward is living like royalty. He's gorgeous, rich, and hasn't got a care in the world. Boys like him don't go for girls like me Jacob. Which is why it's better if he doesn't know anything. It's better if no one but you and me know about this." I began to walk towards my first class. I really hated to throw an outburst at Jacob back there. But I had no other choice. Jacob just didn't get it. He doesn't get why I can't talk to Edward. Him and I are from two completely different worlds.

It would never work out.

"Bella, wait up!" I heard Jacob yell behind me. He came up to me pretty quickly. "Come here." he pulled me into a hug. "I'm sorry." He said as we pulled out of it. "Look, I get it okay? I know I can sometimes act like a jerk and disagree with everything you say. But I want you to know that I do understand okay? Believe me, I do. What I don't get is why he wouldn't like you. Listen," He put his hands on my shoulders. "Any guy would have to be crazy not to like you. You're intelligent, hard-working...you're kind of pretty." I cracked a smile. Jake and his jokes. " I'm kidding. If Edward doesn't like you, he's insane. You're a great girl. In fact, I'll admit: when I first met you I had a bit of a crush on you." I raised my eyebrows. I never knew that. Jake nodded shyly. "Yeah, but then-"

"But then you met Leah." Of course.

"Yeah. But my point is that you shouldn't let your differences stand in your way. Opposites attract Bella." Jake really is an amazing friend. I'm not thankful enough for him.

"You're right."

"Yes and that's why our Friday night plans will also be the final time you'll be out with me. Because you are getting that boy. Doesn't matter what it takes. And you will be going to that birthday party of his as his girlfriend. Okay? After the movie, your main priority will be Edward Anthony Cullen." God must love me, because no way would I have a friend like Jacob by chance.

But I'm not that courageous.

"Jacob, I hear you, I really do, But I just can't! I can't do it Jacob! Please understand that. I can't go though with it. And Alice and Rosalie, they- no, no Jacob I can't do it. I'll just go through the rest of my life just dreaming and hoping instead of doing something about it. So yes, call me a chicken, a coward, anything. Anything you want." When I finished I looked at Jacob. His expression was difficult to read. It seemed to change throughout the course of my speech. Right now, it looked as though he were about to say something.

"Okay. Fine. Don't talk to him. Do what you want. Go on dreaming and hoping like you said you will be. And then when Edward finally does meet someone and starts going out with her, then we'll see how you feel. If one thing is for sure, a guy like Edward won't stay single forever. You'll probably be crying and be really upset over it. And it'll be all your fault. And why? Because you were too afraid to go and tell him how you feel in the first place. And when you do collect the courage to speak up, it'll be too late." I grinned. He was right and he knew it. We both knew it.

"Jacob, what did I do to get a friend like you?" Jake just shrugged.

"I don't know. So does that mean you've decided what you're going to do?"

"Yes it does. Sorry Jake, but you're not the only guy in my life anymore. The next time I see him after Friday. I'm just going to tell it like it is. I'm going to go with my gut and speak up."

**I know. Kind of boring, but I did throw in a couple of funny bits in there. This chapter was going to contain when Bella and Jacob go to the movies, but then it would have been too long. On the bright side, the next chapter will be up sooner than all the others because I've already started writing it. I'm not going to say anything about reviews, just please make sure you leave one. Thanks for reading! **


	7. A Diabolic Dilemma Part 1

**Okay guys, here's chapter six. I have to thank my friend Thaunny (BrazilianHotti9) for coming up with basically everything in this chapter. So thanks! I've got to make something clear. I'm sorry if Edward's POV turns out really crappy. I'm a girl and I've only ever written from a girl's POV before. I know, lame excuse. But please enjoy anyway.**

Alice and Rosalie left half an hour ago. I didn't know where Esme went, but I didn't care either. Tonight was the night. My movie night with Jacob. I know it's nothing to freak about, but I had a feeling. I felt that was something big was going to happen tonight. And it gave me a bit of a reason to worry. It was some kind of weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. Oh well, maybe the school lunch finally got to me. I was sure it was nothing to worry about.

I still had another twenty minutes before Jacob came for me. I started to get dressed. I went very casual as I always do. I just pulled on a pair of blue jeans and a green t-shirt. It was such a relief to not have to do anything tonight. I could have time for myself and not have to rush. I brushed my hair. I hadn't cut it in a while and it was getting long. I ran the brush across my brown locks and looked at myself in the mirror with wonder in my eyes. What was going on? What was going to happen that I was so worried and anxious about? It's probably nothing. Just relax. The worse thing that could happen tonight is you probably drop your popcorn or spill your soda all over you. There's no need to worry. You're going to spend a great night with your best friend Jacob. Talking and laughing and just having fun like good old times. I heard a car horn. Jake's here!

**Edward's POV**

Isabella Swan has been in my mind ever since our encounter in the hallway last month. It's as if my brain was taken over by her. I couldn't focus in school, have a normal conversation with someone, or sleep properly. It was even becoming difficult to concentrate on driving my car! This girl's been stuck in my head and I cannot, for the life of me, get her out of it! I don't need a doctor to tell me what I already know. I know I like her. I like her very much. I've established that a few weeks ago. It's just that I cannot stop thinking about her!

It's because of this I suggested to my brothers that we all go out on Friday night. I should at least try to get my mind of Isabella. There was just one problem. Emmett and Jasper were going out with Rose and Alice on Friday. 'No problem', I told them. 'I'll go with you guys, make it a triple date.' How stupid was I to say that?! How could I think about going out with another girl when my mind is stuck on Isabella? Now I had to find a girl I could ask out who wouldn't take it too seriously. I was actually pretty worried. I don't want to sound cocky or anything, but I know what the girls at my school say and think about me. Asking any one of them out would cause all the other girls to throw a bitch fit, and the girl I ask would start to think I like her and all that.

It was Tuesday when I realized how big my problem was.

I would walk down the hallway between classes, and the fact that all the girls were staring at me, did not go unnoticed. These girls are crazy! It would be impossible to ask any one of them out without her fainting from happiness.

After school, I talked to my brothers about it and they came up with a... strange solution.

"Well, you know Edward, if you're really lost, you could just ask Leah." Emmett joked. I gave him a serious look. I knew that if I were eating something at that moment, I would have choked on it. Leah is probably the last person I would ever think or even want to ask out. She's the worst out of all these girls in school. She's obsessed with me. Always looking for me in school, always coming up to me and trying to start a conversation with me, and I've always thought that that one time she came over to borrow Jasper's history book was just her excuse to get a glimpse of me at home. If there's something else that needs to stop, it's Leah's obsession with me. There's no way I would ask her out!

Unless....

Well, if Leah's willing to do anything for me, if she always wants us to talk and here what I've got to say, then maybe I can ask her out. I would explain to her that I need an escort for Friday night. It'll only be a one night thing and if she wants, she could call it a date. Even though I don't want to call it that. I just needed someone to distract me on Friday. I needed someone to help me get my mind off Isabella. Of course, I wouldn't tell Leah that. Who knows? Maybe she will successfully get my mind off her. Miracles happen.

Wednesday morning, I approached her. Upon seeing me, she quickly shooed off Emily and Tanya. I was glad because I really didn't want to have to do this in front of them two. I had no trouble or nerves asking her since I didn't mean it and I knew she would say yes. As expected, her smile grew wide and she turned scarlet. She accepted quickly and turned to find Emily and Tanya to tell them the news, but I stopped her. I had to make sure everything was clear to her.

"So we're not really going out," I told her, " I just need someone to come with me on Friday and I knew you would accept so-"

"Don't worry about it Edward. I totally understand!" Did she really?

I decided to just accept what she said.

"Okay then. I'll pick you up Friday at 6:30."

"Okay!" Wow. Leah's voice was really getting on my nerves.

So that's how I ended up getting Leah as my date for tonight. Damn. This is going to be a hell of a night.

**Isabella's POV**

Jacob and I pulled into the parking lot of the Warner Movie Theater. I really was very excited. I haven't had a night off, let alone with Jacob, in a very long time.

As we were walking into the theater, I could have sworn I saw Edward's silver Volvo parked a few cars from Jacob's. I shrugged it off. I must be imagining things.

Jake and I stood a few feet from the box office looking at the showtimes. From behind me, I heard a familiar sound. It was a small, childlike voice. No. It couldn't be.

"Jake?" I spoke anxiously.

"Bella, what's wrong? Is everything okay?" He sounded worried.

"Yeah. Listen, you wouldn't happen to be hearing... Alice's voice would you?"

"Yeah, I do Bella. She's standing right behind us with Jasper." he replied nonchalantly.

"WHAT?!?" I whipped my head around. To my surprise, there stood Alice with Jasper, arms entwined, walking past us with Rosalie and Emmett following them. Then walked in Edward and... Leah?!

What the hell was going on?!

I turned back around. "Okay Jacob. Now whatever you do, do not let them know I'm here!"

"Bella come on. It's your night off. You can do whatever you want."

"Yeah but..." I hinted in the direction of Edward and Leah. Curious, he looked. I heard him gasp.

"That bitch!"

"I know!"

"How dare Edward show up here with my woman?!" Are you kidding me?!

"Jacob! I mean, why are they here? Together?"

"No way." Jake replied.

"What?" I spoke.

"They're... they can't be. Bells, I think they're on a date." He looked down to meet my eyes, which were rimming in tears at the obvious realization. I pulled Jake aside to hide by the bathrooms.

"They can't be. They're not. Are they?" I asked.

"It sure looks like it. I mean, come on Bella, let's face the facts. They're here with Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie, in other words, two couples. They came in together. Leah, I don't think has ever looked happier in her entire life! Bella, I hate to say it but, I think they are here together."

No, it's not true. It can't be true!

"That's not possible. Edward doesn't even like Leah! Why would he ask her out?"

"Bella, please relax. I know you're upset and hurt. Trust me, I am too. But what can we do?"

Jake's right. There's nothing he nor I could possibly do. I guess, despite this sudden twist in the universe, Jake and I are still going to follow our plan for a great evening together. Because Edward is not going to ruin my night!

I looked at him and Leah on the other side of the theater. Leah seemed ecstatic to be here with him. Edward didn't looked as pleased but he definitely didn't look disgusted either. I couldn't look at either one of them for too long. I know I would begin to feel....

Oh my God.

"Jake."

"What's up?"

I smiled. "I have an idea."

"What?"

"You want Leah to notice you right?"

"Duh."

"Okay so how about you and I pretend we're here...together?"

"We are here toget- Oh!" I nodded.

"This way, the two of them can get the little green monster and you will finally get Leah to notice you."

"What's in it for you?" Oh Jake. Always so selfless.

"Well. Edward would be able to notice me too I guess." I hadn't really thought about what would be in it for me. But I think I'll just enjoy playing this little game.

Jacob nodded approvingly. "I like the way you think, Swan."

"Thank you, Black."

"Alright, let's do it."

We walked back to the box office acting as normal as possible. I don't know if anyone saw us. But just in case...

"Jake, as we're going in, put your arm around me." Jacob gave me a weird look. "What's wrong?"

"Is that really going to be necessary?"

"Yes. Jacob we have to pretend that we're here as a couple. And the only way to make that convincing enough is by acting like a real couple." I saw a look of regret on his face. "Come on Jake. It'll be fun. And it's just for tonight."

"Okay, okay. But it's only because I'm trying to help you." he said as he placed his arm around my waist. I saw Edward glance in our direction.

This is going to be a long night.

**Edward's POV**

What. The. Hell?

Isabella is here. What is she doing here? With her...friend? It's so weird to see her anywhere other than her house and school. She hardly ever goes out. It's always something about schoolwork or house work. Or at least that's what Esme tells Emmett, Jasper, and I whenever we used to go over to see if she wanted to come out. But we don't do that anymore.

We haven't stopped by in years, to be honest. The last time would probably be eighth grade. I guess ever since Jasper and Emmett started going out with Alice and Rose, we pretty much forgot about her. Well you can't really blame us boys! It's Rosalie and Alice that never talk about her. They forget that she exists when they're out of their house. It's like Isabella's some kind of incurable disease that you get by talking about her. It's actually quite rude of them. I mean, I know they don't like her. But is there really a reason why? I don' t know. Maybe it is our fault for not wanting to talk about her either.

I suppose it would be nice to get to know more about her. Since I'm obviously not going to get to do that from Rosalie or Alice. However, it looks like I won't get the chance to tonight. Her being with her friend and all.

Who is that guy anyway? I've always seen him with her but I don't really know who he is. A friend obviously. But could he be something more than a friend to her? They do seem to be very comfortable around each other. They're inseparable in school. And I do know that he drives her to and from school every day. What exactly do they do in that hunk-of-junk car of his? Talk? Please, don't make me laugh. Any teenage boy who wouldn't take advantage of him and a girl alone in a car must have some kind of mental problem going on. Besides, it certainly doesn't look as if they're only friends by the look of things tonight. He was practically groping her!

The irony of this whole situation kills me. I came here with a group to try to get my mind off Isabella, and I get here and discover she's actually here! With some other guy! It'll be extremely difficult to not think about her tonight. I know what to do. We'll, as in all six of us, are going to avoid them. We're not going to watch the same movie, we'll go up to the concession stand at different times and we'll even go on bathroom breaks separately. It's easier this way. I won't have to see her and more importantly, I won't have to see him with her. Let's just hope things work out that way.

"Edward?" I heard Leah's voice whine.

"What is it Leah?"

"Your brother has our tickets. We're going in now."

"Okay." I allowed Leah to grab my hand as I was being dragged behind her. Even if I couldn't get what I want doesn't mean she doesn't have to.

I could hear Alice as we were walking into the theater.

"Oh my Gosh, what a lovely surprise!" It was her fake voice, and she would only want to use her fake voice for... oh no. "Hi Isabella!" Alice walked over and gave her a hug. And no, I'm not imagining it. As she pulled away from it she said, "Hello... friend of Isabella. So what are you two doing here?" Alice somehow managed to put on the warmest smile without it looking fake.

Isabella responded carefully, as if anything she would offend to Alice.

"Same as you Alice. We're here to watch a movie." I saw Alice nod her little head. Isabella's eyes glanced my way, our eyes met for a second and then she continued talking to Alice. "So what movie you guys going to go see?"

"Oh we're going to go watch the latest Harry Potter."

"Oh, the fifth?"

"The sixth." Alice corrected her. This was way too weird. Alice was acting all nice and sweet towards Isabella. You would think they're life-long best friends.

"Well," Isabella giggled, "I really wouldn't know since I never go out and stuff. So I can't really keep up with all that." she ended and laid her head on what's-his-face's shoulder. Alice giggled as well, but you could tell she didn't really mean it. She leaned in to whisper something to Isabella.

"Does my mother know you're here?" You could feel the evil glare even from where I was standing. Isabella didn't really seem to notice.

"Well, she knows I'm out. She gave me the night off. But she doesn't know I'm here specifically."

"Oh. Okay. Well have a good night." Alice turned and walked away.

"We plan to." she said just as she was walking towards us. But it wasn't Isabella who said that. It was...him. And it was just loud enough for me to hear.

"What was that all about?" Jasper asked his girlfriend.

"Nothing just wanted to see what was up. Rose and I found it a little weird that she was here. We figured she would be at home."

"Did you find out what movie they're watching?" I blurted out.

"No." She responded.

"Why? What do you care Edward?" asked Rosalie.

"No. Nothing. Just so that you girls don't have to see her again tonight. Because if we're all watching the same movie, then maybe we could go somewhere else."

Rosalie shook her head. "I really don't care what she does. It's not like I'm not going to watch the movie just because Isabella and her friend are here. Please, Edward, you know me better than that."

"Right, sorry."

"So let's go or we're going to miss the beginning!" Emmett spoke out loud.

"Right, it's in theater 4." Leah checked her ticket.

"Alright let's go." I spoke quietly. We all headed into theater four for the 7:40 showing of Harry Potter.

**I am so so so so so so so sooooo sorry!! I know I promised this would be up like three weeks ago, but I've just been so busy! High school is tough! Now I know Harry Potter came out in the summer but I couldn't think of any other movie that came out during the month of May. As you can see, this is part one. Part two will be up as soon as I can possibly get it up. It would have been really long if I included it in here. But thank you guys for being so patient. (And if you weren't, well, thanks for coming back to read the story anyway.) Thanks for reading and please leave a review!**


	8. A Diabolic Dilemma Part 2

**Okay this was supposed to serve as a holiday present to all my readers. Unfortunately. I haven't had time. Until now. So here's chapter 7! Read and review and I hope everyone had a great holiday!**

"Bella, come on it's about to start!" Jake was grabbing my hand and pulling me towards theater 9 to catch the 7:35 showing of Harry Potter. I looked around and found a clock. It read 7:37. We were late.

Out of breath, I heard Jake speak. "Okay, we're here. We made it." He handed his ticket over to the ticket taker.

"I'm sorry. I can't let you in. The movie just started." The ticket taker named Marc explained.

"Aww man!" Jake cried.

"But there is another showing in theater 4 starting in two minutes. If you hurry, you can-"

"Okay, great, thanks." Jacob turned and pulled my hand down the stairs towards theater 4. We got in just in time and the ticket taker let us in with no hesitation. We rushed into the theater and started to look for our seats. The trailers were playing so we would have to be quick.

Through the darkness I was able to spot the honey-colored hair of Edward. _'Oh shit!'_ I thought. I completely forgot that they were watching this movie. Well, it's a big, dark theater. Wherever we sit, I'm sure none of them will be able to see us.

"See any empty seats?" Jake asked me.

"No." That was a lie. While he was asking, I did find two empty places. Which were directly in front of Edward and Leah's.

"Oh found them!" Jake spoke. I knew he was talking about the seats in front of the Cullen clan. There were no other empty seats left in the theater. He pulled me towards the seats.

"Sorry, excuse me, pardon." I heard Jacob saying as we tried to get through the row to reach the center where the seats were. I was just following him trying to hide my face with my hand. Jacob took is seat. I did too but instead of sitting up like he did, I slouched down, trying to make myself as unnoticeable as possible. I had no idea if Edward had seen us or not. I glanced sideways at Jacob, who was watching the current trailer as if there was absolutely nothing wrong with our seating arrangements. The more he sat there, motionless, the more I glared at him. Until finally, he noticed.

"Yes?" he questioned.

"Jake, are you even slightly aware of who's sitting behind us?" I whispered.

"Yep." he replied while turning back to face the screen. "Edward and Leah." What the hell? So he did know. "And Alice and Jasper and Rosalie and Emmett." he continued. It was true. They were all here.

"Oh okay so you do see my problem!" I snapped.

"Bella, wasn't tonight's plan to try to make Edward jealous?"

"And Leah." I reminded him.

"Please Bella. Stop trying to fool me. We both know Leah couldn't possibly get jealous of you."

He had a point. "This whole set-up is for Edward. And I hate to break it to you, but by shying away and hiding, it's not going to work. Now quit being a baby and follow your plan!" Always count on Jacob to boost your confidence level up. Well, mine at least.

I straightened up in my seat. Then I saw Jake put his arm around me.

"What are you doing?!"

"Just sit back and watch the movie Bella." he simply replied. I was sitting on Jacob's left and Edward sat right behind him. If I turned my head slightly to the right, I was able to see Edward's expression without him seeing me. Right now, with Jake's arm around me, it didn't look too pretty.

Leah had her head on Edward's shoulder . He didn't seem to mind. That's because he wasn't even paying attention to her. The look on his face was unforgettable. He look as if Jacob moved any closer towards me, he'd break his neck right here and now.

Good.

"It's working!" I murmured excitingly.

"I know." Jacob said. "Time for Phase 2."

"What's Phase 2?" Oh my God Jacob. What are you going to do?

"You'll see." he replied.

A few seconds later, I saw from the corner of my eye, Jacob's hand rest on my shoulder. And it began to go lower... and lower...

Oh wow, Jake.

"Real subtle Jake." He stopped when I spoke. He chuckled.

"Hey just trying to help." Without fully thinking about, I swiftly leaned in and kissed hi cheek. When I pulled away, he looked flustered. I giggled. As softly as I could, I spoke, "Thank you for this Jacob. I really do appreciate it. I couldn't have done tis without you."

"You really couldn't. You're crap at trying to get this guy jealous." he confessed.

Alright Jake. I'll let that one go.

I placed my head on Jacob's shoulder. I almost forgot all about Edward. Now I'm wondering. What did he think of the scene that has just occurred in front of him?What did he think of when I kissed him?Oh no. I'd forgotten there were other people with him. They weren't supposed to see or little show. What if Alice or Rose got it back to Esme? I'd have to explain everything. Including my crush on Edward. And I couldn't have that. I'd never hear the end of it from the three of them.

Discreetly, I looked towards where Alice, Rosalie, Jasper, and Emmett were. Thankfully, the two couples were to busy making out to notice anything else. I ended up not being too worried about them

It's Edward i need to be worried about. He is the reason I'm doing this.

"So," I asked Jacob. "Any more tricks up your sleeve?"

"Nah," he said. "But I'm sure something will come up."

It remained silent and still for about ten minutes until Jake spoke again.

"Hey Bella, how 'bout I kiss you?"

"What?" I lifted my head. Did I hear him right?

"You heard me. How about I kiss you as part of the," he cocked his head back in Edward's direction, "thing?" What the hell Jacob?!

"You say it so seriously."

"Well, I'm serious about it."

I shook my head. "Why?"

"Because it'll get him really pissed off. It's going to work Bells, trust me."

"No. Jake it's not going to be necessary. You don't have to."

"Bells, come on. It's going to work." he kept trying to urge me. He was also getting dangerously closer and closer with each word he spoke.

"Jake no, really, it's okay-" I was cut off by Jacob's lips softly pressing against mine. What the fuck Jacob?!?!? He pulled away after a few seconds. I honestly had half a mind to slap him right across the face. Jacob looked at me with a huge smirk.

"Jacob!" I tried my best to calm down. Really, I did. "You promised you would never do that again. What the hell?"

"Bella, calm down. Now just watch what happens the second we get out of here."

"There will be no watching. Because this game is over." I snapped getting up and storming out of the theater. I saw Jake was right on my tail, but I wasn't going to stop. Now Jake had really ticked me off. I pulled the door open and walked off.

"Bella," he managed to catch up to me, "What's wrong?" he snickered.

"What's wrong? WHAT'S WRONG?" I could feel tears filling my eyes. "Jacob what the hell was that about? I told you not to and you didn't anyway."

"I-"

"And I don't care if it was part of the plan. I'd much rather you go through something as drastic as that with my approval. Otherwise don't!"

"Bella, I don't see why you're getting so upset."

"Because Jake, I would have liked it if you would have asked me before you...you-"

"Kissed you." he finished.

"Yes." I turned towards the concession stand.

"Well, Bella the good thing is, it worked. Trust me, I wouldn't have done it if I wasn't positive it was going to work. I really wouldn't want to kiss you otherwise." I laughed. I believed him one hundred percent.

"Didn't stop you two years ago."

"Yeah, but that was way back when."

"Alright I forgive you. But don't go and do something as stupid as that again." Suddenly, I saw the doors of theater 4 open and out stepped Edward and Leah.

"I promi-" Before Jake could finish his sentence, I grabbed him by the back of his neck and crashed my lips onto his.

I placed my arms around his neck and kissed Jacob with all the strength I had. I was able to manage a glimpse of Edward's face. He looked completely outraged. It was perfect.

We broke apart and I tried my best not to look at Jake's face. Looking at the ground, I said as loud as I could, "So Jake, you want to get some popcorn?" I gestured towards the concession stand. I glanced up at him. He was nodding his head.

"Sure. Why not?"

**Edward's POV**

That mongrel. That god-damn, perverted, horny mongrel. Does he honestly think he can do whatever he wants to Isabella just because they're in a dark movie theater and he thinks no one can see them? Well, guess what asshole? _I_ could see you. Completely. Gave me and Leah a perfect view. Oh man. Leah. I've been ignoring her all night. She doesn't seem to mind though. She hasn't been complaining. But it's not my fault. If that...beast and Isabella hadn't been distracting me, I could have paid more attention to her. She is my...date after all.

In attempt to make it up to her, I offered to go buy her some popcorn. She insisted on coming with me, so I had no other choice but to let her. And what do I find as I'm stepping out the door? Nothing else but Isabella permanently attached by the lips to that dog. Really?This is not your own personal movie theater where you can do whatever you want whenever you want to. Including make out with your date in the middle of everybody and not worry about grossing anyone out. That's a hell of a PDA! So what do I do? I just stand there, mouth half-dropped on the floor, ready to catch flies. Leah seemed to catch on to what I was looking at, but didn't know why I had that look on my face. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Isabella and the dog pulled away. Isabella looked really embarrassed and glanced an apologetic look towards the mongrel. Frustrated, I pulled Leah by her wrist towards the concession stand, where them two stood. Leah and I were right behind them in line. I don't know if either one noticed.

I couldn't help to do anything but look at the back of Isabella's head. I was waiting for her to move. To turn around. To do something!

I got what I wanted it seems.

The dog began to place his hand around Isabella's waist and pull her close to him. As if he couldn't be anymore closer. I saw him lean his mouth down towards her hair. For a second, I thought he was going to kiss her again. Yeah, well this time I'll be ready. Ready to beat the shit out of him! There was no need for that though. He didn't kiss her. He just whispered something in her ear. Which I'm guessing was funny because both of them chuckled when he was done. And I'm also guessing it's about me. Because after that, Isabella slightly turned her head to look at me. As if she were checking that I was really there of something. When she saw that I had noticed her, she gave me a small smile, blushed, and turned back around. After, the mongrel seemed to pull her closer. What the hell?

What's-his-face continued touching her, groping her, no doubt harassing her. And she was letting him! What the hell is wrong with this girl? I mean, I know she doesn't get out much but really? I'm sure Isabella deserves so much better than this jackass. Just look at him! I'm sure if he could, he would just rip her clothes off right now and take her on the popcorn machine. Woah Edward. Calm down now.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Thinking of her, Isabella, naked and sprawled out against the popcorn machine. Or anything. Damn. I shook my head again.

Something caught my attention. It was the asshole's hand. Moving down her back. Towards-.

Oh you fucker.

I don't know what made me do it. I acted on impulse, I suppose. I just reached for the back of his shirt and pulled him to the other side of the theater. I ran and just began attacking him. I pulled him up and punched and hit every possible part of his body I could reach. I kicked him a couple of times too. I knew I was making a scene but I didn't care. Half my brain was telling me to keep going and beat the shit out of this jerk. And the other half didn't even realize what I was doing. It was an out of body experience almost.

This is really unlike me. I'm not a violent person. But I am a well-mannered person who was raised on the right way to treat women. And no one should treat a girl like that. Definitely not the way this asshole was just treating my Isabella. She's not a goddamn piece of meat.

Everything was happening so slowly. No one was coming up to break this fight up. Well, it wasn't really a fight since I was kicking this guy's ass and he wasn't exactly trying to defend himself. Not 30 seconds must have passed since I threw my first punch. But it felt like hours to me.

"Jacob!" I heard a voice from behind me. Isabella. I heard her running up behind me. I automatically stood up. I could hear Isabella's panting next to me as she tried to get, what was it, Jacob up. While he got up clutching his stomach, Isabella looked at me in total disbelief. Eyes wide, open-mouthed and everything. I glanced at her then quickly at Jacob. He looked pretty torn up. I hope I didn't do any long-term damage. I don't think I did. I'm a horrible fighter.

"I'm sorry!" I blurted. "I'm really sorry man. I don't know what came over me. I just-"

"It's okay." He replied wincing. "I'm fine." I saw Leah, my brothers, Alice and Rosalie stop at my side.

"Edward, what the fuck happened?!" I heard Emmett ask. I just ignored him.

"Are you sure? Because my dad's a doctor and he could-"

"No really. I'm fine. Don't worry about it." I looked at Isabella. She seemed to be looking at anything but me. Damn. I couldn't stand to see her upset. And at me.

"Um. Listen. I'm having a party at my house next Saturday-"

"Edward, what the hell are you doing?!" I heard Rosalie snap at me. But I continued as if I hadn't heard her.

"-And to make up for what I did, because I feel really terrible man, I would like both of you," I gestured to him and Isabella, "to come." I looked around at the seven of them and I could feel the different emotions radiating off each one of them. Jacob's face seemed to be considering it, Emmett looked pissed, Jasper looked as emotionless as ever, Alice and Rosalie looked at me as if I had gone crazy, Leah just stood there, confused as to what was going on, and Isabella.... Well, it seemed that she was a lot more interested in the design of the carpet than my invitation.

Alice was the next to speak.

"Are you insane Edward? Did someone drug your drink at lunch or something?" I just shook my head no as I stared as Isabella's hung head, hoping she would pick it up and say something. I could feel Alice's eyes on me. Then Isabella. Then me again. Then Isabella. She spoke again. "Well, I don't think they'll be able to make it anyway. I think Isabella's got chores to do that night. Don't you Isabella?"

Isabella lifted her head a little and opened her mouth to speak. But it was Jacob who actually spoke. "Well, she might." The seven of us looked at him. "But either way, we'll see. We'll think about it."

"Okay." I nodded. "But just know the invite stands."

"Mmm hmm." Jacob replied. He squeezed Isabella's arm. "You ready to go?" She nodded. "Okay." Without another word, Jacob and Isabella left. Jacob limping and Isabella supporting his weight.

**Isabella's POV**

As Jake and I exited the theater, he released me from under his arm and he began to walk normally.

"Phew! That was easy!" Jake exclaimed.

"That was so scary!" I said. Jacob laughed.

"What was scary about it?!"

"Jake, I thought he was really going to hurt you! Are you sure you're okay?"

He smiled. "Bells, I'm fine. And you and I both know Edward Cullen would never hurt a fly."

"I guess." I mumbled as I got into the passenger seat of Jake's car.

"Look, the plan was to get you an invite for Edward's party, and that's done. Don't worry about what I had to do to get it. I'd take a bullet for you Bella." I smiled.

"Thanks Jake."

"Well, I probably wouldn't really take a _bullet _for you, but you know what I mean." I giggled.

"Yeah. I know."

"Now all we have to do is get you there." Jake cheerfully replied.

"Yeah but knowing my family, that's probably going to be the hardest part."

He cocked his head to the side. "You never know."

**Edward's POV**

"What the hell was that all about?" Emmett boomed.

"Nothing."

"No it wasn't! It was about _something_!" Alice shouted. "Why would you invite them,those... people to your party?"

"I thought you wanted to have a good time Edward?" Rosalie said.

"I have to agree with with Rosalie and Alice, Edward." Jasper spoke. "I don't see why you would invite those two. We don't really associate with them. I mean, they seem nice and all but-"

"Please." Alice scoffed and folded her arms across her chest. "They aren't nice."

"I'm sure Isabella isn't that bad, Alice."

"But, Jasper, you don't live with her." Rose interjected. "And that friend of hers, oh my God!"

"Wait, that was her friend?" I asked. I thought they were something more...

"Yeah, her friend. Why?" Alice asked suspiciously.

"No reason. But like you said Alice, it's my party and I can invite anybody I want to. Rosalie, I will have a good time even though there are going to be two people whom I hardly ever talk to."

"Alright, alright. Quit bitchin' on Edward. Let him screw up his party if he wants to."

"Thanks Emmett."

"No problem man."

"Look guys, if worse come to worse and they do come, just ignore them. Stay amongst yourselves if you need to. Remember. They might not even come."

But I sure as hell want one of them to.

**Alright guys thanks for reading and please review! Hope you enjoyed! Next chapter: We'll find out if Bella's going to the party!**


	9. Go For It

**This is the longest period of time I've gone without updating. So sorry. I should never write a book. I'd never get it done! Just kidding. Please enjoy the chapter!!**

What the hell have I gotten myself into?

Edward's party is tomorrow night and I'm not even sure if I'll be able to go. Not that I have to get permission from Esme or anything. It's just that I don't know how Alice and Rosalie feel about this. Again, it's not like I need their permission either. I just don't know how they feel about me going. They don't exactly like me now and they really didn't like it when Edward invited Jake and I to his party. And Jake! That's a whole other story.

I would never say it to his face but Jake's been acting like a total douche ever since the night Edward invited us. Whenever I try to bring up the subject of Edward's party and how much of a bad idea I think it is, he either ignores me or changes the subject to how well he thinks he did on his finals or something about his car. It pisses me off! And we're going to have to talk about it at some point. Because the party's tomorrow night and we don't even have a plan for how the night is going to go. I don't even have a dress!

As I was serving Esme's cup of coffee, Rose, Alice, and Esme herself came into the dining room.

"Good you're here. We need to talk." Esme spoke. As the three of them sat, I noticed smirks on Rosalie and Alice's faces. I was still standing once they were settled. I noticed Esme look up at me. "Sit!" she demanded as if it were obvious. I sat at the other head of the long table, across from Esme. Rosalie and Alice began eating their toast, but they still kept a watchful eye on the two of us. Esme took a sip of her orange juice before she began talking.

"Well, Isabella as you know, tomorrow is Edward's big birthday party." Ah. So that's what this is all about. "I hope you weren't planning on going?"

"Err... I...-"

"Great." Another sip. "That's good. Because you're going to be needed here." I opened my mouth to protest, but Esme interrupted again.

"I haven't written up yet but there's going to be a million chores that have to be done tomorrow night. Laundry, cleaning, washing... There's more but you'll just see it on the list when I give it to you."

Shit.

If Rosalie and Alice's smiles got any wider, it should have broken a record.

Esme took another sip and then asked, "That won't be a problem, will it?"

"No." I replied softly.

"Oh and don't have that friend of yours Jason-"

"Jacob."

"Whatever. Don't have him come over. I don't know him and I don't know if I should trust him in my house without supervision."

"Okay." I knew it. I just knew it! It was so like Esme to do something like this. No doubt the girls had something to do with it.

After a moment of silence and sadness on my part, Esme spoke again.

"Well girls," she addressed Alice and Rosalie. "You should get going. You don't want to be late for school." Once Rosalie and Alice left the room and were out of earshot, Esme spoke one last time before leaving the table. "I'll have that list for you by tomorrow afternoon Isabella." I couldn't say anything, so I just nodded.

I started clearing the table as Esme turned her back and left the room. It wasn't until I heard the clicking of her heels going up the staircase that I threw a plate back down on the table in anger.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, I was out the door and jogging towards Jacob's car in the driveway. Rosalie and Alice's cars were already gone. I was still pissed off at my eventful breakfast and it was going to take a while for this grudge to wear off. But I had to tell Jake. I had to tell him now.

"So about the party-"

"Did I tell you I changed the oil in the-"

"Jake stop!" I surprised him so much, he almost lost control of the car. "We need to talk about this party now!"

"Okay fine! We'll plan it out-"

"Because I'm not going."

"WHAT?!?!" This time, Jacob surprised himself. He actually pulled over. "What do you mean you're not going?" I took a deep breath and began to explain.

"This morning at breakfast, Esme told me that if I had any plans for tomorrow night, that I better forget it. She's going to give me a list of chores to do that will most likely be so long, I'll be finished by the time I turn 30. So we have to cut it out Jake, because it's not happening. Once again, Esme's found a way to screw over my life. So we might as well just forget it."

Jacob and I sat in his car in total silence. I was trying to sink in what I had just said. And I hope he was too, because there's no way I was going to let him pressure me into going anyway. Jacob has to know where to draw the line.

Finally, Jake said something.

"Bella, you may not know this, but your the bravest person I know. You've put up with Alice, Rosalie, and Esme for almost ten years and you still haven't broken down. You've complained but you've never threatened to run away. You're going to stay strong and stay focused for one more year and then you're gone. But if there's one thing I know, it's that you never and will never let any of those three stop you from doing what you want. And you know that. You know I'm right. I might tease you and say you're a coward and all that, but I don't mean it. You are the bravest person I have ever met. Nobody but you would be able to live a day in your life. There's always a way for you to get what you want. We'll find a way. I promise you that we will."

Jacob's speech did make me feel better, and as much as I wanted to find a way, I knew it was almost impossible. But Jake's right. There's always been a way. Why can't there be one now? And why am I starting to cry?

"Bells," he put a comforting arm around me, "Why are you crying?"

"Because you're right Jake. You're right. I'm brave and strong and I've been denying myself of it all this time. In one year, maybe less, I will finally be rid of Rose, Alice, and Esme forever. And even though I've been bullied and tortured by them, I've always found a way around them to get whatever it is I want. What I deserve. Because I've had to put up with enough bullshit to get something out of it. And what I want is Edward Cullen, and I won't allow any of them to stop me.

As I was speaking, my confidence grew more and more and I sucked back the tears. Calmed down, I told Jake to keep driving. But I could tell he was still worried about me.

"Look," he began, "What if I found a way you could get all the chores done and still go to the party? Would that be okay with you?"

"That would be great Jake. Do you think you could make that happen?"

"Bella, I'm Jacob Black. I can do anything." I laughed.

"Yes, that would be great Jake. Thank you."

"No problem."

* * *

When I woke up this morning, I never thought my day would go like this. All morning, I've been doing absolutely nothing. Instead, I had the pleasure of watching Alice and Rosalie prepare themselves for the big night. They went though the whole process of nails, hair, and makeup. You'd think they were going to prom!

However, the only thing Esme's been doing all day is writing that ridiculous list of hers. I'm pretty sure it's going to contain the stupidest things she's ever going to have me do. But that doesn't matter to me. With my luck, I won't even be doing any of them. Hopefully, Jake can come through for me.

Rosalie and Alice were set and ready to go by six. And both of them looked absolutely breathtaking. I've got to admit, for a pair of spoiled little bitches, they're a gorgeous pair of spoiled little bitches. I still had no idea how the hell I was going to look. The girls left and it was just me and Esme alone in the house. That's when I found out what her plans for tonight were.

"So Carlisle will be picking me up at seven. Don't wait up but make sure you finish everything on the list. I'll be back at midnight, so I'll see you then." She turned back around before she fully walked out the door. "Oh, and enjoy your night Isabella."

No later than a minute after Esme locked the door behind her did I hear the doorbell ring. Knowing I wasn't expecting anyone else, I knew it was Jacob. I walked into the foyer and opened the door.

"Bella, I'm the answer to all your prayers!" Jake invited himself in.

"Umm.. okay. Why?"

"Because this entire house will be spotless by the time you get back from this party!" I was speechless. He actually did it?!?!

"Oh my God Jake really?! You managed to get someone who could all this work for free?"

"Nope."

"But... I thought you said-"

"I got a group of people." He opened the door and yelled into the darkness. "Come on in guys."

Behind him came in a group of five foreign-looking men. Each one about the same height, and all of them looked similar to one another. Every man held some kind of cleaning utensil with them. "Bella, I'd like you to meet Jean, Claude, Pierre, Andre, and Michel. They're going to clean the house for you." All five of them waved and smiled at me. I returned the gesture.

"Um, Jake, do any of them speak English?"

"Yeah. All of them. They can read it, speak it, write it, and understand it. Just like you and me."

Okay. That sounded way too rehearsed.

"Great, so here's the list. You shouldn't have any trouble finding anything. It really isn't that big of a house once you get used to it. And all this has to be done by midnight because that's when my stepmother comes back from her date with her boyfriend. But don't worry. I'll be back here in plenty of time to let all you out. Thank you guys so much. You have no idea how much this means to me. You might even, literally, change my life. Thanks again." I looked at them once I was finished. They looked at me as if I were speaking another language, which I was starting to suspect they probably thought I was. "Jake, can I talk to you in the kitchen for a second?" He nodded and followed me into the kitchen.

"Is something wrong Bella?"

"Jacob, you bring in five strange French men into my house and expect me to believe they speak English? Who are they anyway?"

"My cousin's girlfriend's brothers."

"Your cousin's French?"

"No. His girlfriend is."

"Okay whatever but really? You want me to believe they all speak fluent English?"

"Alright so you caught me. But don't worry. I already explained to them what they need to do."

"You speak French?"

"Oui."

"Okay well if they know what to do then let's just leave them to it. You can come upstairs and help me get ready because we have a problem."

"What?"

"I don't have anything to wear."

Jacob seem to think for a moment. "Wait. I've got an idea."

* * *

"No."

"Bella-"

"There's no way Jacob, there's just no way!"

"Really Bells, you're not going to wear it?"

"NO! I can't. She'd kill me."

"How can she? She's never gonna find out. She's not gonna see you in it."

"Jake don't be stupid! I'm going to be there! Of course she's going to see it."

"But she's not going to see you. And honestly, there are probably a million copies of this dress in every mall in the state. I don't think she'll suspect that this one was taken out of her closet."

We were standing in the middle of Rosalie's bedroom and Jake was holding up a brand new dress of hers. When she and Alice had gone dress shopping weeks ago, Rosalie, unable to make up her mind, bought two dresses. Both were absolutely beautiful, but of course, she couldn't wear both. So the one she didn't choose was the one in Jacob's hands right now. And he was insisting on me wearing it tonight.

"Jacob, no. Just no."

"Okay then what else are you going to wear? I'm pretty sure you don't want to show up to Edward's house in sweats. Or do you?"

I groaned. "No." With a smile that made me want to punch him, he gently handed me the dress.

"I'll wait outside. Feel free to use her make-up too."

"Get out Jacob. Get out." I playfully pushed him out of the room. I can't believe he's making me do this. With my experience with dresses, I'll probably destroy the thing! The last dress I wore must have been the small black one I wore to my dad's funeral. But I'm pretty sure there's a zipper around here somewhere....

Despite our argument, I followed Jacob's directions and put on Rosalie's dress. Half and hour later, I emerged from her bedroom. To be honest, I think I looked pretty good. I struggled with the dress at first, but I eventually got into it. I had no idea how the make-up worked but I think I did okay. Mascara on my eyelashes, lip gloss on my lips, and blush on my cheeks. I don't look like a clown, at least. The hardest part was my hair, which Jake insisted I do. Since the most I've ever done to my hair was hastily pass a brush through it, this was very difficult. And Rosalie had so many hair products and accessories to choose from! I finally settled with a half up-half down hairstyle with loose curls on the ends. And don't even get me started on my adventure with the hair curler!

But now it was time to reveal all. I hope I looked okay. I didn't have time (nor did I want) to go back and change into something else. So I hope this works. I opened the door to meet Jacob's impatient figure.

"Well, it's about t... whoa." Oh God Jake. Don't. "Bella. You look gorgeous." I turned red and looked down at the floor.

"You really think so?" I saw him nod.

"You look so beautiful." I caught Jake's eyes roam my body. But it wasn't in a lustful manner. It was more like he was an overly proud father seeing his little girl go off to prom.

"Thank you."

"Sure thing. You clean up pretty well, I've got I admit." I rolled my eyes.

"Well, we should get going before these shoes become even more comfortable."

"Right."

Jacob and I walked downstairs. I peeked at the list that was taped to the wall. I was glad to see three of the more tedious chores had been done. I was confident the whole list would be done by midnight.

We got into Jacob's car and drove at a normal speed. Then I realized something.

"Jake, don't take this the wrong way or anything, but why are you going?" He hesitated before he answered.

"For support, Bella. You're my best friend, so I need to go. Because otherwise I don't think you could go through with this." I stared at him the whole time he said that. It was completely obvious he was lying.

"It's Leah right?"

"Yeah." He replied guiltily. I giggled and turned away.

Soon enough we arrived outside Edward's house. The big, heavy, silver gates opened up and greeted us into the Cullen Estate. _This is it. _I thought. _When I leave that building, my life might be completely different. _It was too much to handle at once. Adrenaline was rushing through my body and my palms were extremely sweaty. I was way too excited. Or... ? Was I just really nervous?

We quickly found a good parking spot and Jake came around the car to open the door for me. I felt the cool breeze of outside when he opened the door, but I couldn't seem to step out of the car.

"Bells, come on." I heard Jacob say. I took a deep breath, but nothing. Jake kneeled down to meet me. "Don't be scared okay. You can do this. You have come so far already. Remember back when you wouldn't even admit it to yourself about Edward? Well, you've passed that stage. Now look at yourself! You're standing only a couple hundred feet from his front door. I can't be with you all night. And I certainly can't be with you the rest of your life. You know you have the confidence to do this. Just reach down deep inside you, and go for it. This is your night. Once you walk through those doors, there's no turning back. Come on." Jake kissed my forehead and stood up. He offered his hand. I rejected it. In one swift movement, I stepped out of the car and before I knew it my 3-inch heels were touching the pavement.

Before Jake even had the time to close the passenger door, I was halfway down the driveway and heading towards the front door of Edward Cullen's house.

**Phew! Gosh I hate doing this to you guys. It seems that I ALWAYS leave you with a cliffhanger... sorry! I'm not going to say anything about the next chapter because I don't want to make a promise I can't keep. But please review this one! =D **


	10. Party People

**Yes, I know you all hate me, but you will love me after you finish reading this chapter. And if not, you'll hate me even more for the way I ended it. Enjoy.**

Despite being in 3-inch heels, I found myself walking rapidly towards Edward's front door. I didn't look back once so I wasn't even sure if Jacob was trailing behind me or not. With every step I took, the music got louder and more audible. The front door was open so I could see people inside. I recognized some kids from school. I stopped at the bottom of the front steps to wait for Jacob. It didn't take him long, with his long legs and all.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Yep." I sighed happily. I took a step forward, then put it back I turned to look at him. "But remember Jacob, I have to be back home by midnight Not a second later."

"Well, set your alarm to 11:40. Twenty minutes should be enough time to get you home."

"Okay." I reached into my purse and pulled out my phone. After punching in a few keys and making sure the volume was set to high, I was all set.

Jake and I took a couple more steps into the house. Then he turned to me.

"Well this is where I leave you." he declared.

"What?" I exclaimed.

"I'm- I'm leaving Bella. I gotta have a party of my own." he eagerly said.

Shocked, I replied, "Jacob you cannot just leave me now! At least stay another 10 minutes!"I had to scream in order for him to be able to hear me over the loud music. I could make out his face. He looked confused.

"I'm not leaving the house Bells, I'm just leaving you alone. I want to-"

"I know! You can't do that! Just stay with me another 10 minutes please!"

"Bella! Relax! You can do this. Just take a deep breath and go. But whatever you do, make sure you have fun." Leah, Tanya, and Kate had just entered. "I know I will." He raised his eyebrows suggestively. "See you at 11:40!" With that he turned and disappeared into the ever-growing crowd of people.

'Okay', I thought 'Just chill. Focus on finding Edward. He's gotta be around here somewhere. It's his house!' There was a lot of people here. But I already know that finding him wasn't going to be an easy task. I had to do it quickly though. I didn't want to find him right when it was time for me to leave.

I really underestimated the size of the Cullen house. It looks like a fucking castle from the outside! But 10 times bigger on the inside. I struggled to get to the other side of the room. I zigged and zagged my way around the huge maze that was the dance floor. A good 5 minutes later, I was across the room, standing at the bottom of the stairs. My heels couldn't help me see over the tall throng of people, so a lot of spots were left unsearched.

My eyes drifted to the ceiling, and they kept moving to the right. And then finally found what they were looking for. Edward, his brothers, and a few boys who I'm guessing were his friends, were crowded together on the balcony overlooking the first floor. They were all drinking and laughing.

Two of the boys separated from the group. The remaining four proceeded down the stairs. They were Edward, his brothers, and a friend of Edward's whose name was Tyler.

The technicolor light would hit them so I could see them. But it was dark enough so they couldn't see me, Edward looked, as always, gorgeous. The four boys passed by me without so much as acknowledging me. Then again, I **was** hiding in the shadows.

Mentally, I had prepared myself for this moment many times, The moment when I would finally get to speak, without sounding like an idiot, to Edward. The only thing is, I envisioned this without anybody else around. Just the two of us. I didn't mind the dozens of party goers because they wouldn't be paying attention to Edward and I. But in front of his brothers...that's a different story. I can't face that kind of humiliation. I wasn't going to stand there all night but I certainly wouldn't be able to muster _that_ amount of courage.

Then as if God were listening or good luck just happened to fall upon me at that moment, I saw Jasper, Emmett, and Tyler walk away from Edward and join the party. This left Edward standing alone to the side of his own birthday party doing nothing but occasionally taking a sip from the cup in his hand.

This was my chance, and if I didn't act now, I would lose it.

Cautiously yet confidently, I walked up to him. And after that, I don't know what the hell came over me.

"Hi.", I said slightly nervous. He turned to face me and if he wasn't already smiling, he would have now.

"Hey.", he breathed back. But he didn't recognize me. He didn't know who I was. Did I really look _that _different? Not wanting to stay silent or for him to leave, I thought of something else to say.

"Great party. It's your birthday right?" Edward nodded. "Happy birthday." I giggled. Edward suddenly stuck out his hand.

"I'm Edward.", I shook his hand and giggled again.

"Yeah. I know."

"How about you? Do you have a name?"

"Ummm..." I didn't know what to do. He obviously didn't know who I was. And at this point it would be awkward (not to mention embarrassing for him) to tell him who I was. I guess it wouldn't hurt to... play around with him for a bit. What's the worse that can happen?

"Yeah, I do. But let's wait until later for me to tell you." We smiled at each other.

"So I'm sorry if I sound rude, but how are you here? I mean, I didn't invite you myself so..."

"Emmett. Errr... Emmett invited me. He's in my... art class. And he said it would be cool if I crashed. So here I am." He smiled his perfect smile, but it looked like something was wrong. "If you want, I can leave.", I spoke, signaling towards the door.

"No. No way. It's just Emmett... in an art class.."

I laughed. "Yeah, I know."

"But then, if you have class with my brother, that means you go to my school! How come I've never seen you around?" Damn.

"I umm, tend to keep to myself a lot. I may not seem really shy right now, but I am. And it was really an open invitation anyway. Emmett kinda screamed it out loud to the class." Edward rolled his eyes.

"I'll get him for that. I told him not to make such a big deal about this. But I guess it wasn't so bad." He looked at me. I blushed and quickly turned my head before he could see it. But something tells me that despite the lack of light, he noticed anyway.

From then on, it went smooth sailing. Edward and I talked with zero awkwardness and no hesitations. Naturally, we moved from our extremely loud location to somewhere more calm and quiet: his backyard. If the house was big, then the Cullen men had a backyard fit to match. A small stone pathway led from the stairs of the back patio to a grass clearing. It somewhat resembled a meadow, but with more natural accessories. Ten-foot tall trees splattered randomly around the backyard. Hedges high enough to form a tiny maze. Where I assumed the boys used to play in when they were younger. A giant hammock was built not too far from where Edward and I stood. The was a great natural scent in the air. Fireflies occasionally lit up and added small light to the night sky. The whole thing was breathtakingly beautiful.

"Wow.", was all I could say.

"Yeah. We haven't done much to it. Just added the hammock." I smiled while still looking around the place. "It's mostly used by Emmett and Jasper whenever they have their girlfriends over." Insert mental laugh here. "Maybe you've heard of them. Alice and Rosalie." I nodded as he said their names.

"Yeah. I've heard of them. Never spoken to them, but they seem pretty nice." I tried my best not to sound sarcastic. Edward hesitated.

"I guess you could say that. If you say you've never spoken to them." I couldn't help it any longer. I let out a laugh. Edward must have just ignored it because what he really noticed was me rubbing my arm with my hand.

"Are you cold?" he asked.

"Umm... yeah kinda. Do you mind if we go inside?" Edward smiled.

"No problem." I actually was a little bit cold. But I mostly wanted to go back inside to avoid being left completely alone with Edward in his brothers' and my stepsisters' 'love hammock'. Who knows what could happen then? I wasn't ready for that yet.

We returned to the dark, pulsating atmosphere of the party. The situation was confusing because I didn't want to be left alone with him, but I also didn't want to be surrounded by his guests. The solution came quickly, however, when Edward spoke up.

"Do you wanna go upstairs?" I turned to face him. "Nothing like that!" He quickly cleared up. "Just for the privacy. It's warm and not crowded up there. So we'll be fine. Up there." Aww. He sounded so shy. How cute!

"Sure." I nodded.

Together we made it through the dancing couples and grinding lines of people and managed to go up the stairs. Our hands were so close but they never touched. Not once. I knew it was more on his part. He wouldn't want to make a move too soon. It's just the way the Cullen men work. They're total gentlemen.

I stole a glance at my phone for the time. 11:00.

When Edward said upstairs, I didn't know he meant his room. It was a smart way of getting me in there, I'll admit. But it just made me rethink the whole gentleman thing. It wasn't too bad. The closest we had come to physical contact since being in that room was the two of us sitting on his bed. Even though we were far apart from each other. He lit a lamp, which I liked. We spoke about random things, in our attempt to get to know each other better. Our likes, dislikes, interests, stuff like that. I knew our time was limited, but it felt like it was never going to end. At one point though, I asked him a very daring question.

"So how is it that Emmett and Jasper have been in long-term relationships with the same girls for a while now, but you haven't gotten anyone?" He looked hurt after I asked that. Stupid me. "I don't mean to offend you," I added quickly. "I'm just curious. I mean, I don't know your brothers that well, but you seem like a really cool guy-"

"No, no it's fine. I get you." Then he began to explain. "Jasper and Emmett have been going out with Alice and Rosalie since they were thirteen I think. And I guess they like them a lot because they haven't broken up with the girls. Now I'm not saying that that once I stop liking a girl I'm going to break up with her. You've got to give it a second chance, I believe. But I don't know. I just haven't found that right person I guess. My brothers are lucky. They found girls they're really into and like a lot. I'm just not as fortunate."

"What kind of girls do you like?" I surprised myself. And along with the question, I got up and moved closer to him.

"To shorten it up, not the girls that live around here. If Alice and Rosalie were single, I wouldn't even be into them! All the girls here only care about money, their looks, who's hooking up with who, and when and where the next good party is. I just need someone who isn't into all that. A little bit is fine, but not so much that's it's their whole life. Someone who cares about other things. Important things. Someone who's honest with me and willing to open up about anything. Someone who'll listen to me as much as I listen to her. Someone that won't make up ridiculous stories or excuses. Someone who's nice to all and envies no one. And if they hate someone, then it has to be with a good, logical reason. Someone who's not fake. Someone real. Believe me, if I wanted someone from around here, you and I never would have met."

I don't know how it happened. I honestly don't. But the next time I looked up at him we were sitting inches away from each other. Our faces getting closer. And that's when I realized, I have to tell him. I've got to tell him who I really am. He just said he doesn't want someone who pretends to be something they're not. That's exactly what I've been doing this entire night! I didn't when my alarm was going to ring, but I didn't want it to beat me in telling Edward the truth. Before he could get any closer, I spoke.

"Edward, before we go any further, there's something I've got to tell you."

"It can wait." He mumbled.

"No, it can't. It really...really..." I couldn't do it. My heart was stronger then my head at this point, and my heart was pulling me closer towards him.

And then my alarm rang.

Edward's eyes shifted in the direction of my purse, where my phone was located.

"Esme." I whispered.

"What?" He asked.

"That's me. That's... me. I've gotta go." I stood up and began turning towards the door.

"WHAT?"

"I'm sorry. I had a great time with you Edward. I really did. But now I've got to go. Bye." Without allowing him to speak another word, I opened the door and ran. I pushed past the people standing on the staircase, not caring to apologize and ignoring any feet I stepped on. I didn't know if Edward was behind me, but I didn't dare turn around to check.

Next, I had to go through the never-stopping dance party to get to the front door. As I pushed and shoved, I took out my phone and called Jacob. As soon as I heard the ringing stop, I practically screamed into the phone:

"Jake, get to the car now! I'm on my way." I hung up without hearing a reply from Jacob.

I finally pushed past the last person and rushed out the front door. The cool breeze felt amazing on my skin after being caught in the heat and sweat of the hundred-something bodies in the house. But I didn't enjoy it for too long. I ran down the front porch steps and heard the sound of something small hit the pavement below me. I ignored it, thinking it was just a bobby pin that escaped from my hair and fell to the ground. At one point while caught in the crowd, I turned to see if Edward was behind me. Thankfully, I had lost him.

I ran to the place where Jacob had parked his car and saw him leaning against the hood.

"Well it's about ti-"

"Get in the car!" I yelled. We both sat at the same time and Jacob put the key in the ignition. The car roared to life. "Now drive, DRIVE!" He reversed the car as quickly as he could then continued to drive out of the Cullen's driveway.

"How much time we got?" I asked.

"Errr..." Jake looked at the clock on his radio. "Sixteen minutes."

I sighed deeply. "Come on Jake. We can make it."

We have to. We NEED to!

**Edward's POV**

So many questions were rushing through my head right. Who was this girl? And why did she have to leave so suddenly? And what did she want to tell me right before we kissed?

I did my best to follow her and was succeeding until I got to the dance floor. I'd be surprised if she made it out safely. It's almost impossible to breath in there! There's where I lost her and I have absolutely no idea where she might have gone.

When I reached the front door and felt the cool breeze, I looked around for her. She was nowhere to be seen. I stepped down the stairs, thinking the porch light would reach farther if I stepped down lower. When I got to the middle step, however, I felt something underneath my shoe. I bent down to pick it up.

It was... a locket. A very simple, clean shiny gold locket shaped in a heart. There was nothing engraved on the front nor were there any scratches visible anywhere. It was in very good shape and was obviously special to whoever it belonged to.

It belonged to her.

Whoever this girl was, that's who it belonged to. She'll realize her locket is missing and come back for it. Maybe not tonight, but she will. And if she doesn't come back... then I'll find her myself. She goes to my school, it can't be that hard!

I'll find her. I'll do whatever it takes. I WILL find her.

**Well, I hope you guys enjoyed that. I'm sorry for taking so long to update, but I'm on summer break so I promise to put up the next 2 or 3 chapters more frequently. By the way, I saw Eclipse, ****and it was awesome! Please review so I can hear what you have to say about this chapter and we can talk about how great Eclipse was! Lol jk... but please review!**


	11. Mistakes Were Made

**Okay, I don't have any excuses. I'm just lazy. Sorry! Please read and enjoy!**

"Jake hurry, we've got less than a minute to get home!" We had just turned onto the exit that would lead to my house. It was 11:59 and I was shaking in my seat. When Esme says something, she means it! She'll be walking through that front door at 12 AM sharp, and if I'm not in the house by then… there's no telling what would happen.

When Jacob pulled into the driveway, he barely managed to stop the car before I jumped out. I ran to the front door to begin unlocking it while Jacob finished parking. By the time I pushed open the door and took my first step inside, Jake was running up behind me.

Without ever discussing it, we both knew what was the first thing we needed to do: get rid of the Frenchmen.

Lucky for us, they were all gathered in the kitchen, where the list was also posted. Amazingly, everything on the list was done. I told Jacob to tell the men to follow me to the front door so they could escape- I mean, leave. Together, all seven of us managed to get to the front door. Then suddenly, the bright high beams of Carlisle's Mercedes shone through the glass, making it impossible to get out through the front since we would be seen.

"No, no. Go back!" I whispered hastily to everyone and gestured in the direction of the kitchen. The back door would have to do.

As we were returning to the kitchen, I overheard Jacob speaking rapidly in what I assumed was French. It seemed important as if he were trying to get the message through to them, and towards the end, he pointed to me.

A second later, Jacob stayed back with me as the others took off towards the back door.

"What did you say to them?" I asked anxiously.

"Relax. I told them to go out through the back and directions for how to get onto the highway. And yes, I told them to be careful and quiet. Chill Bells, they'll be fine. We need to worry about you and how you're going to get out of that dress and have it back on the hanger of Rosalie's closet."

"Jacob, what about you? You have to get out of here. You can't even be here!"

"I'll be fine. Go upstairs and change!"

At this point, I had no idea what kept Esme from entering the house. She was probably on the front porch making out with Carlisle for all I knew.

I did as Jacob asked and went to my room to change. He followed me up. Once I had Rosalie's dress off, I passed it to him through my slightly opened bedroom door. He then proceeded to place it on a hanger in her closet. In the meantime, I changed into casual, labor clothes to at least give Esme the impression that I've been doing her crap for the past few hours. I was halfway done when I heard a knock on my door.

"Bells," I heard Jake's voice. "I'm going to get going now. Esme's still outside swapping spit with the doc, so I'll leave from the back. Don't worry, I'll make sure the coast is clear.

"Okay Jake. Thanks for everything. I'll see you Monday."

"Alright. And you better tell me everything that happened."

Then he left. I wasn't too worried about him being caught. He was smart enough to make up a quick, convincing story on the spot, even if he, under Esme's instructions, wasn't allowed to be here.

Two minutes later, I was coming down the stairs, fully clothed. At the same time, the door opened and Esme walked in, looking like she just had the time of her life. By the time I reached the bottom of the stairs, she was halfway down the foyer.

"Hi Esme. How did your night go?" I asked, trying to sound like I actually wanted to know.

"It was great." She replied. "How did it go around here?" She asked as she looked around the room to check if it were spotless.

"Everything went fine. I finished everything on your list," _Your absolutely ridiculous list._ "and had plenty of time to spare. And no one called or anything, so it was a pretty quiet night."

"That's good." She went on as if she hadn't heard me. "Good job I guess. Good night." And she began climbing the stairs.

"Good night Esme."

By then I was so exhausted, I could have just slept on the floor at the foot of the stairs. But I knew that would have been a weird sight for Rosalie and Alice to see when they got home. So I reluctantly trudged up to my bedroom.

As I lay in bed, looking at the ceiling, I thought about the amazing night I had. I managed to talk to Edward Cullen like a normal person and not sound like a babbling idiot. I loved it. And I love him so much more now that I got to know what kind of guy he really is. He's absolutely perfect. As perfect as the kiss that we almost shared could have been, if it wasn't for my stupid alarm clock ringing at the exact same time. And then I ran out, like I was trying to escape from him. God, what must he think of me now?

Leaving his house turned out to be one big blur. I can barely remember what happened. I almost tripped several times while running down the stairs and almost ran out of breath passing the huge crowd of people. In reality, I knew only one or two minutes had passed, but in my head, it felt like hours. And when I saw Jacob next to his car, the relief that I felt was indescribable. Now that I'm home, I just need to take off a few more bobby pins and I'll be ready for a calm, relaxing sle-. Wait a minute. Bobby pins? That's not what dropped onto the ground back at Edward's house. It was something heavier, something… a lot more valuable than a couple of bobby pins. It was…

My locket.

Oh shit. I reached up to feel my neck and saw that my suspicion was true. A bare neck. Locketless. I had just lost the most important thing in the world to me. And for all I knew, it was probably lost forever.

"So what's the big deal about this locket?" Jacob was asking me after I had told him about the discovery of my lack of jewelry on Monday morning. I haven't even told him how the night went yet. I was just focused on telling him about the locket. "I mean, you seem really stressed out about it but I don't see why." I had never shared with Jacob the story behind my beloved locket. Nor had he ever asked. But everything needs an explanation, and this is one that I didn't mind giving.

"Jacob, you don't get it. That locket's the only thing I have left of my mom. My parents were going to give me the locket when I was a few months old. But after I was born, they never got around to finishing it. As you know, my mom… passed away while giving birth to me. So my dad didn't want to make any changes to it. That's why there's no engraving on it. But he did take out his picture and leave only my mom's, making it the only memory I have left of her. The way you see it is the way it was left. But I don't have it anymore! I lost it at Edward's house!"

"Wow. That's pretty sad, Bells. So what are you going to do?" He said as he started the car.

"Well, I can't tell him, but I NEED that locket back. You have no idea how special it is to me."

"Yes, because I don't know what it's like to lose a parent."

"Jake, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry. I just really need it back."

"Look Bella, don't worry. I'm sure it's safe. Edward probably has it."

"And if not? Jake, we don't know for certain if he has it. Emmett could have it. Or Jasper. Or any of the other party gue-. Jacob, Alice or Rosalie could have it."

"Bella, you need to relax. Wherever it is, I'm sure it's fine."

After a long sigh, I replied, "You're probably right." We drove quietly for a few minutes and I felt a bit of tension in the car.

"Soooo…..?" Jacob spoke up.

"What?"

"How did it go? The party? You and Edward? All you've talked about since you got in the car is your locket, but tell me what happened at the party!"

"Jake, I don't know how I'm ever going to be able to thank you. Because I had the time of my life on Saturday, and it's all thanks to you."

"Aww, you're welcome. But tell me how it went."

The remainder of the car ride was occupied by telling Jacob how the night went. And it finished when I got to the part about my locket. By the time I was done, Jake was speechless. And not in a good way.

"So you mean to tell me," he began, "that after all the work I put into this, it turned out to be for nothing?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"Bella! He doesn't even know it's you! He thinks you're some random girl he met at a party. Hell, that's exactly what you are! Bella, why didn't you tell him it was you?"

"Jake, it's not as easy as you think."

"Bella! That's total bull! God Bella…." Jake sighed and looked at me disappointingly. Then his eyes went back to the road. "I guess you'll just have to tell him."

"Umm… No Jacob, I don't think so."

"Then I really don't know what else to say to you Bella. I've helped you out as much as I possibly can. All you had to do was reveal yourself, and you can't even do that." He was scolding me as he began parking.

"Jake, please don't be mad." I chased after him as he got out of the car, grabbed his bookbag, and started walking towards the school. "Look, it wasn't even _that _great of a night." I lied while trying to keep up with his long steps. "Nothing really happened. He's probably forgotten all about me by now."

While ending my sentence, something caught my eye. A regular-sized piece of light pink paper was taped to the school entrance. I assumed it was some new school announcement that no one cared about.

"Whatever you say Bella." He mumbled.

As we walked through the doors, my vision became blurred by the light pink and purple papers that took up most of the wall space in the hallway. On each and every paper, there was a silhouette, a brief description and the words, 'contact Edward Cullen', followed by his phone number.

"Have you seen Cinderella?" Jacob quoted the question from the top of the flyer. "Cinderella." he gestured to the paper. "Isabella." He gestured to me. "I get it."

"Jacob, shut up." I pushed him away from the posters, only to end up in front of more. So we started to walk towards our lockers. "I can't believe he did this!"

"It's actually pretty damn smart. And it's not like you were going to tell him anyway. Now Edward will find out for himself."

"Don't say the name out loud! I didn't want this to happen. I figured he would just forget about me."

"He just found the girl of his dreams and you think he's just going to forget about you?"

"Well I sure as hell didn't think he was going to try to find me like this!" I complained.

"Then again, it might not work. I mean, you get the most attractive guy in school publicly advertising that he's looking for a girl he met a party and has no idea who she is. And his phone number is on the paper. I wouldn't be surprised if he had half the girls at this school calling him by now." Jake explained.

"But none of those girls are Cinderella."

"That doesn't matter. He doesn't know who she is. For all he knows, it could be that scary, Goth girl from our English class. So he must have something planned for those girls to prove they're the real deal. Something from that night obviously, that's how he'll know that he found the right girl. Maybe a conversation you two had or…or something. Your locket."

My eyes snapped to meet his.

"What?"

"Edward has your locket. That's how he'll know who Cinderella is. It's going to be, like, the final test. Maybe he'll ask what it looks like or what shape it is or something. I don't know. The point is he has your locket, and now you have to step forward, tell him it's you, and not only get your locket, but get the guy!"

"You sound so optimistic Jacob. Too bad that's not going to happen."

"And why not Bella?" I paused as I walked to the closest poster and scanned it.

"Because it's humiliating enough to tell Edward himself, but to have the whole school know that I had to pretend to be someone I'm not just to impress a guy, that's downright pathetic." Jacob sighed, showing that he understood.

"So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know Jacob. I don't know."

The entire school day turned out to be very depressing. And seeing the posters all over school searching for Edward's mystery girl certainly didn't help. After what seemed like forever, the lunch bell rang. I couldn't wait to meet up with Jake in the cafeteria and not have the awkwardness of hundreds of my own silhouettes staring at me in the hallways.

"This whole thing with finding you is worse than I thought." Jake said when I met up with him.

"What do you mean?"

"No one will shut up about it! All these girls can talk about is either calling the number or what happened once they did!"

"And?" I asked, not too troubled by how much it bothered Jacob.

"And what?"

"Could you gather anything? What happens once they call"? I must have sounded anxious, because I really was.

"I don't know much. But every girl, including those who didn't even go to the party, have been calling him all morning. It's really cra-." Something else must have distracted him, since he stopped speaking. The expression he had on said he was looking at something unbelievable. And sure enough, when I turned to see what he was staring at, in walked Leah, Emily, and Tanya.

"Huh. Why didn't I think of it before? Leah would obviously be the first person to call Edward." I declared as I turned back around. "Seeing as she loves him and all. She loves everything about him and will do whatever it takes to get with him." I smirked as Jake, trying to get a rise out of him. But he sat frozen. "Jacob? Hello? Jacob?"

"I'm over Leah." Okay, so he had heard me. Wait, what?

"What? What do you mean you're over Leah? Since when? How? Why?"

"I'm over Leah," he started slowly, "and onto somebody else."

"My God, who?" Jacob's eyes widened and I turned around again. I looked as the second set of terrible threes as they passed by our table. Leah was, as always, in the middle. Tanya was to her right, and Emily on her left. It was Emily who was closest to our table. Just as she was passing by us, she glanced at Jacob. That was all I needed.

"Emily?" I hissed as soon as they were out of earshot. Jacob nodded. "Seriously? You moved onto _her_? At least Leah had _some _brains. Sure, she's a bitch, but-."

"Bella!" Jacob yelled rudely, "Don't make fun of me."

"I'm not, I'm just saying that…well… Jake, it's unexpected. I mean just last week, you were making fun of her for not knowing how to count to ten! And now you're like her? How did this even happen anyway?"

"Bella, I hope you don't think you were the only one who had fun Saturday night."

"What do you mean by that? Jake, what did you do?"

"Emily."

"No you didn't."

"Okay no. But I did have a damn good time."

"Alright Jake, you're going to have to back up and tell me how this happened."

"It pretty much started right after you left…."

_Flashback - Jacob's POV_

"_See you at 11:40!" Those were the last words I spoke to Bella before I left her and her cowardice in the middle of the party. I love the girl to death but she's got to know when to cut loose. She's never going to get the guy if she keeps up that attitude of hers. She needs a major confidence boost. And having me there wasn't going to help. I've done as much as I possibly could._

_Lucky for me, Bella quickly escaped my mind the second my eyes found what they were looking for: my sexy, little Leah. She had come with Tanya and Emily, typically. But I wasn't about to let them get in my way. How they managed to get in, despite Edward telling them they weren't invited, I didn't know. Hopefully Bella could distract Edward enough so he wouldn't notice his three unwanted guests. _

_Turning on my irresistible charm, I boldly walked up to the three girls, who were standing to the side, over looking the crowd, Leah was in the middle, with her adorable nose in the air._

"_S'up ladies?"I spoke confidently._

_None of them responded, but I just gave it a few more seconds. After that, I cleared my throat. Loudly. _

"_Tanya," Leah spoke up, "What is that annoying loud noise?"_

"_The music?" Emily piped in._

"_I was talking to Tanya."_

"_What are you talking about Leah?" Tanya replied, even though she knew exactly what Leah was talking about._

"_The noise coming from our left." And with that she turned and looked at me directly in the eyes. I stood still for a couple of seconds, completely mesmerized._

"_I'm Jacob." And I looked right back into hers._

"_I don't care." She replied and turned away. Ouch. In the brief pause, Emily chose this moment to introduce herself._

"_Hi, I'm Emily."_

"_Yeah, that's nice." I responded quickly, doing my best to ignore her. "You want to dance?" Directed at Leah, obviously._

"_No." she spoke firmly._

"_Why not?"_

"_Because I don't want to."_

"_Well that doesn't seem like a good rea-."_

"_Okay, wow. You're really annoying aren't you? Alright, how about this? I'm going to go over there. And you just stay right here. And don't follow me. I'm going to take my friends so that they don't get creeped out by you either. Okay? And then after that, you're just never going to talk to me again. And I'll return the favor. That sound good to you? Okay."_

"_Wait, but-."_

"_Alright then." She began walking away._

"_Leah-."_

"_Bye Jared." Farther away._

"_It's Jacob…." I didn't get a last word from Leah because the blasting music and darkness made it impossible to hear or see her anymore. I noticed Tanya and Emily remained, but with a quick laugh at me, Tanya turned and followed after Leah._

_Feeling upset, I stared at the spot where Leah's perfect 10 body was, not fully aware (or even caring) that her best friend hadn't left. When I finally did look away, I shot Emily half a smile and turned away._

"_Wait." She called out. I faced her. "I'm sorry about Leah." I shrugged, clearly pissed off. "I know she can sometimes be a bit…rude."_

"_Whatever." I mumbled, wanting nothing more than to go home. _

"_It's nothing personal. She's just like that. It's her way of…meeting people."_

"_So she'll come back?" I asked, still a little hopeful._

"_No." Hope gone. "She thinks you were really annoying. And trying too hard. Both are a bug turn-off to her."_

"_Oh." She nodded as I was turning to leave._

"_Wait, Jacob." She yelled out again. Whoa. This girl actually knew my name. This definitely was a reason for me to keep a conversation going. "Umm… well Leah's gone. Obviously. But you and I could hang out now, I guess." Wow. Forward much?_

"_Well, I-." Now hold on there Jacob. Don't be so quick to let this poor girl down. Clearly, she's lonely now that her friends have left her. It's not like you have anything else to do. You're supposed to leave Bella by herself and then go off and have a party of your own. Sure, she's no Leah, but she's almost as good as! You shouldn't even be thinking about this. One of the hottest girls in school just offered to party with you and you're just standing here _thinking_ about it. What the hell are you waiting for?_

_If anyone had told me an hour and a half ago that I'd be getting to know Emily Young, the supposed dumbest girl in school, I'd say they were fucking crazy. And so maybe I'm crazy for thinking this, but I'm really enjoying spending time with Emily. I suppose you really can change your opinion about a person after spending time with them. The only person I've actually gotten to know is Bella and that was years ago. It turns out, Emily is actually a really cool person. And, of course, as hot as an Egyptian desert. She laughed at all my jokes, even the bad ones, which is a plus. But the biggest shock must have been that she is actually not stupid! At all! She just looks like it. With those big, doe eyes and pouty lips, she's managed to fool everyone! Amazing! God, I really like this girl. Did I mention she's hot? Because she is._

_It didn't take me too long to get into her pants._

_Just kidding._

_But we did start making out a little. Okay, a lot. It was getting pretty hot and heavy too. So much in fact, that we had to look for a private, secluded area in the house. The Cullen's coat closet did the trick._

_I don't want to gross you out with all the details, so I won't go any farther. But just believe me when I say I really did have a damn good time._

_End flashback_

Bella's POV

"But it ended when you called me, screaming in my ear, to meet you at the car. If you had just waited a couple more minutes Bells… well it's alright. I forgive you.

Words couldn't come close to describing how my face must have looked. Or how I felt.

"Jake, I honestly don't know what to say to you. I'm sorry, it…I just can't… sink it in. Emily?" He nodded proudly. "Okay. Well, looks like your night was a lot more progressive than mine."

"I'll say." Jacob replied. "So I hope my story has taught you what could have happened if you just stepped up to the plate. But you didn't. Now look at the mess you're stuck in."

"Jacob, please stop. I know I should have taken my chance on Saturday. And I regret that I didn't. But I'm not going to randomly go up to him and tell him who I am. I'll tell him. One day."

"Well that day might be today. Look who it is." For the second time today, I looked at the cafeteria entrance and wasn't too happy with what I saw. It was another group of three. Three boys. Edward, Emmett, and the ever-constipated looking Jasper. Edward looked like he hadn't slept in days. Although it was probably just the massive amount of phone calls he had been receiving all morning. Unless he was up all night thinking about me…. Could I really have had that effect on him?

Probably not, it must be the phone calls.

Sighs and squeals were heard all over the lunchroom as more and more girls noticed Edward. His plan really was hopeless. He'll never find out it's me.

But like I told Jacob, I will tell him it's me.

Some day.

**Thanks so much for being so patient! Sorry again! Please review! =D **


	12. Stupidity, Not Pity

**I apologize for how unprogressive this chapter is going to be. But there's some Edward and Bella interaction for those of you who like that kind of stuff. Lol, I hope you enjoy and don't forget to leave those reviews that I love so much!**

There was about another ten minutes left of the lunch period, but I got up and threw my trash away, then proceeded to leave the lunchroom. Jacob followed behind.

"Bells, you okay?" I had started to hide my face because I didn't want Jacob to see so vulnerable.

"I don't know Jacob. It's just, I do want to tell him but I can't. It's too embarrassing. You probably think its really stupid but-."

"No, I don't think it's stupid."

"You have to. I mean, look what happened to you at that party. And you didn't even know her, Jacob, how did you do that?"

"Look, remember that she came up and talked to me. From then on, it was easy. You just needed an icebreaker."

"I told you, we had one and everything was going really good but then the damn alarm went off and now he has my locket and I have to tell Edward that it's me so that I can get it back."

"Bella, I think you're missing the much bigger picture here." I had started sobbing and wasn't paying much attention to Jake.

"What do you mean?"

"When you tell him it's you, you're not just getting your locket back. You're getting Edward."

"I don't really care. I just want my locket. That's the most important thing in the world to me and this moment, Jacob. Edward can come whenever."

"Okay, okay, I see why you're like this." Jake gave me a big, warm huge. "You're just upset, so you're saying things. Look," he pulled away and looked into my eyes, "You're just nervous. But you'll see that once you've got the confidence, you won't even remember why you were so nervous in the first place. You'll see that it's the easiest thing in the world."

"Thank you Jacob. As always, you're being the supportive friend and I'm being the crybaby loser."

"No, you're not."

"I am. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. I'll tell him one day and I'll get my locket back and everything will be okay and back to normal."

"Well, if you say so Bella. I have to go talk to Mr. Gregson about a homework assignment. I'll see you later." I nodded as Jake kissed my cheek. He walked away and I stood still for a couple of seconds. I decided to got o my locker and get ready for my next class. As I turned around, one of Edward's posters caught my eye. I hadn't really fully looked at one of them since I've been trying my best to avoid them all day. But this time, I actually paid attention to it. I took in everything: the title, the silhouette, even the thickness of the letters. Doing so only made me want to tell him even more and reveal myself as soon as possible.

I was about to turn around and head for my locker when I heard a voice behind me.

"Have you seen her?" Edward chuckled as he approached me. "Hi, Isabella." He stopped right in front of me.

"Hi, Edward. Umm, no I haven't seen her." I didn't dare look at him in the eyes as I spoke. He looked disappointed. "She sounds beautiful though. 'Brown hair, brown eyes'. Pretty."

"Yeah, but the real thing is better." I smiled weakly, still not looking at him.

"I was there you know, at your party."

"Oh, great!" He exclaimed. "So you did go. Did you have fun?"

"Yeah. You know, music was good, food was good. It was, overall…good." He chuckled.

"That's great. Glad you enjoyed it. Did your friend, J…."

"Jacob."

"Right, Jacob. Did he go too?"

I nodded. "He enjoyed it too. He had a lot of fun. Believe me when I say that. He said something about Cullens knowing how to throw great parties." Edward smiled. I looked back at the flyer."So… tell me about why you like this girl so much. I mean, if you're going through all this trouble to find her, she must mean something to you." He looked at the flyer, and then at me.

"I don't know much about her, not even her name. She didn't talk much, to be honest. I kind of liked that because I knew she wouldn't suddenly begin talking about herself, like most girls would have. That let me know she would listen to me, to what I had to say. And she was paying attention too, not pretending. She was kind of shy at first, but she still caught my attention. I could tell she had something to say though. Like she was looking for me so she could tell me something." Edward was looking at me, but he was seeing something way beyond me. A memory of some sort. One that he and, although he didn't know it, I shared. I didn't stand looking at the flyer the whole time though. Instead, my eyes roamed around the floor.

"She was real. Someone I could connect to. Someone who is hard to find. I don't know much about her, but I want to. I want to see her again." Then shaking his head as if waking up from a daydream, he finished. "That's why I like her so much. That's why I have to find her."

Wow.

"But you know", he continued, "all that physical stuff is good too. How she looks, what her body is like, how good she is in bed." My eyebrows rose quickly at that one. "Not that that really matters though. It's not too important."

I felt a sudden urge to tell him the truth, to just come out with it. But instead, I just said: "Well, good luck finding her. I hope that when you do, she turns out to be everything you thought she would be."

I turned my head to look at him after I finished. And I caught him looking at me.

"What?"

"I'm sorry." Edward said while shaking his head. "You just remind me so much of-."

"Isabella!" Halfway down the hall, from behind Edward, came Alice's high-pitched voice. I looked away from Edward and at Alice.

"Yes?" I yelled back.

"Could you come here for a minute?" Without answering, I looked back at Edward.

"Sorry, I have to go."

"It's cool. I have to get to class anyway. I'll see you around then?"

"Yeah, sure." I walked away before I could fully finish my sentence. I quickly approached Alice, who was now joined by Rosalie. "What is it, Alice?"

She blinked twice before she replied.

"Sorry, I forgot." Her petite body stormed off. Rosalie gave me an apologetic look before she went off to join her sister. This waste of time threw me off and I went to see if Edward was still there. Sadly, for me, he wasn't.

I began my second attempt at going to my locker. I stopped once again because I heard voices that weren't familiar but seemed important.

"I heard that it's all going to go down after school at the quad. It's going to be him, Emmett, and Jasper and they're going to be asking questions about his and Cinderella's conversation to prove it's really her."

Another spoke. "So you're not Cinderella?"

"Of course not. Nobody knows who it is, but I think every girl in school is going to this thing. An once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become Edward Cullen's girlfriend! It's like the real life version of The Bachelor! Only he already knows who the girl is."

I couldn't hear anymore. I turned back and walked in the opposite direction. So he's going to play his little game after school then? Does he honestly think it's going to work? Clearly, this guy does not know how sought after he is around here. He's going to have hundreds of girls show up and not know what to do with them. There's got to be a way out of that. But until I figure it out, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to show up. And hide in the bushes. And see what it's going to be all about.

* * *

There were girls lining up before last period was even over. Somehow, the Cullen boys were able to get a red rope, like the kind they have in banks and nightclubs. Jasper, who had last period free, was a standing guard. The ropes created parallel lines where the girls would be walking down one by one. And about five feet from the end of the rope stood a table with three chairs behind it. Here's where Edward, Emmett, and Jasper would be sitting. You'd think the Beatles were coming to town.

I wasn't behind the bushes. Yet. I was lowly, progressively making my way there though.

The final bell rang and Cullen-mania started. In the time it took me to walk three steps, girls who were in the building ten seconds ago were practically trampling me.

Once the screams had died down a decibel or two, Emmett pulled out a bullhorn. Again, don't ask where he got that from.

"Alright ladies, alright!" he bellowed. All the girls fell quiet immediately. "Now I'm only going to say this once so please listen up. We're on a very tight schedule here. My brothers and I have lives to get to. We're going to have each one of you walk up to the table and you're going to say your name. Then we're going to ask you a couple of questions about your lovely night with my adorable baby brother. If you answer most of them correctly, you'll move onto the next round. Keep in mind, that's only going to be a handful of you." I managed to crouch behind the bushes by the time Emmett started talking and I was completely shocked by what I heard. 'If you get them right? Only a handful? If you're really Cinderella then you should be getting none of them wrong! But of course, none of those girls are really Cinderella. "So without any more hesitation, I'd like to bring out my brother and the boy you all love, Mr. Edward Cullen!" The girls began shrieking again, and then, just like John Lennon himself, Edward very modestly walked up to the table and gave a quick wave. He took his seat in the middle then proceeded Emmett to his right and Jasper to his left. I'm still wondering how the school ever allowed them to do this.

"First one up please." Jasper called out. Up walked a girl of average height with long black hair who looked nervous and excited at the same time. "We'll start off with an easy one and get harder as we go on okay?" The girl nodded, preparing herself.

Emmett took over now and asked the question.

"What color shirt was Edward wearing that night?" Ha! Nice! Start off with the easiest question. If they can't even answer that one how the hell is her going to get what he's looking for?

"Umm. Umm." The girl stammered. Obviously, she did not know the answer. Emmett, Edward, and Jasper all blinked, waiting for her response. "Blue?"

"Ehek!" Emmet made the annoying incorrect buzzard sound. Edward looked disappointed and Jasper said, "No, I'm sorry. That's incorrect."

"Wait, let me try again. Red?"

"Nope." Emmett replied.

"Gray?"

"Sorry!"

"Green?"

"Wrong-O!"

"You will be asked another question, so you do have another chance to prove yourself." Jasper informed.

"Oh, okay then." I rolled my eyes. She couldn't get the answer even though it was so easy. He was wearing black.

Jasper asked the question this time, which she also got wrong. It turns out that if you got the two questions wrong, you were dismissed because you didn't know anything about him and were therefore not who Edward was looking for.

This made total sense because they weren't questions about our conversations. They were personal questions about him. And he told me that this girl paid attention to him and everything he had to say, which means that if she was really listening, she would know the answers to these questions. And so far, I knew the answer to every single one of them.

It wasn't just the fact that they didn't know the answer. It was that the answers they were giving were completely stupid. For example, when one girl was asked, 'If Edward had a pet, what would it be?' she said a hammer. I don't even know how the two things relate to each other.

It went on like that for about twenty more minutes, and no progress was being made. Few managed to get one correct, and that was with a good guess. But none managed to get both questions correct and move into the next round. This upset me because I really wanted to see what the next round consisted of.

They were almost halfway done with the girls when Jasper asked, "What is Edward's greatest ambition?" The girl that was up confidently replied, "To become a doctor like his daddy," because, of course, that's what you'd expect him to want to become.

"Idiot." I mumbled. "He wants to start a charity to help underprivileged children."

"Bella?" The voice came from above me.

"Jacob!" I grabbed his sleeve and yanked him down. "Shh! What are you doing here?"

"Did you suddenly forget that I drive you home every day after school?"

"Oh, sorry."

"I tried to call you but you wouldn't answer." I pulled my phone out. It was still on silent from that way I had it during school. I put the volume on low.

"Sorry."

"What's going on?"

"Edward's interviews to find Cinderella."

"Oh!"

We crouched behind the bushes watching for another five minutes and again, no progress was being made.

"Bella, why don't you just go up there yourself?"

"I can't Jacob."

"Why not? This way, you don't have to tell him. You'll just have to work your way up like every other girl."

"I can't because I already talked to him about Cinderella."

"What?"

I started to explain. "After lunch, he cornered me and we started this whole conversation about Cinderella and what he likes about her and that he really wants to see her again. Jacob, I think he's in love. He was saying all these really nice things about me and it took so much effort for me not to tell him."

"Oh my God, Bella."

"But the best thing was that I talked to him as myself. Me, Isabella, and not Cinderella, and everything was okay. Now I know that it's possible for me to have a normal conversation with him. So telling him is going to be a lot easier than I thought."

"Well, there you go! Something good came out of it." I smiled and turned back to face the action.

I gasped. "Leah's up." She confidently walked up and plastered a smile on her face and a hand on her hip.

"Next." Edward called out. It was the first word he spoke in the entire event. Emmett and Jasper chuckled and all the girls behind Leah giggled.

"Excuse you, Edward. I think I should get just as good a chance as every other girl."

"No, you don't Leah. I know for a fact that's it's not you."

"And what makes you say that?"

"Because I didn't invite you. So you shouldn't have been there."

"Edward, please. I crashed."

"And that makes me believe that it's not you even more. The girl I met wouldn't have done something like that. She was honest, sweet, and real. Everything you're not." Jacob nudged me and I turned to face him with a huge smile. He was smiling too.

Leah stood there for a few seconds, fuming. She clearly wanted to let Edward have it, but couldn't bring herself to do so. Instead, she just turned away and stormed off.

There was still about another fifty girls left and the questions needed to be repeated. I wanted to stay for the entire thing and I knew Jacob did too. Thankfully, he didn't ever again bring up that I should go up because I wouldn't know what to say to him this time around.

My phone rang about two girls after Leah. It was Esme.

"Yes?" I greeted into the phone, not even trying to sound cheerful.

"ISABELLA, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" Esme screamed into the phone. I quickly covered up the speaker as tightly as I could. I asked Jake for the time. Damn, it was almost four.

"I…umm….I-I…."

"Umm… I-I umm… wha-what?" She imitated me. "I'm sorry, I don't know where that is. Anyway, I need you to come here ASAP. I need you to sweep the stone path leading up to the front door. It looks filthy and you could also mow the lawn too while you're at it. And water the grass. It's getting a little brown."

"Okay."

"Alright then, have it done now." She hung up sharply. I sighed.

"Time to go. Got to get back to reality." Up to the table now was a blonde girl who looked like she was really struggling. "This was fun."

"I feel kind of bad for them though." Jacob spoke. "They all know they don't stand a chance."

"That's not pity. That's stupidity." We got up and walked quickly out of the scene. When we reached the parking lot, we jumped into Jacob's car and drove to my house, where my fantasy would be replaced by a nightmare.

**Reviews are greatly appreciated! **


	13. An Invitation

**Okay, I just want to apologize for the pathetically short chapter. It's not even a chapter really. But out of fear of losing all my readers, I figured I had to give you SOMETHING. So here goes. But I think you'll like it. I hope you do. **

I thought the ride home with Jacob was going to be filled with our comments of what we had just witnessed. But it was surprising silent. Jacob was probably trying to prevent himself from sounding like an asshole by not saying anything to me. And I had nothing to say either.

"That was interesting." I spoke. Jacob moved his head in a way to say he was agreeing but didn't verbally say anything.

"Poor girls though." He spoke at last.

"Yeah. So did you hear what he said about me?" I started to get really excited. Jacob nodded. "It's amazing that I could have had that effect on him. I mean, I just spoke to him for a couple of hours. It's great. He likes me so much and-."

"And he doesn't even know that it's you." He finished.

I sighed. "Yeah."

"Don't worry. I'm not going to say anything. I know it bothers you. I'm just going to wish you luck right now for whenever it is you decide to tell him."

"Thanks Jacob." He gave me a weak grin.

"Well, we're here." he spoke and upon looking out my passenger side window, it turned out he was right. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye. Thanks." He didn't say anything and simply drove off. I went upstairs and changed into my labor clothes. I grabbed the broom and dustpan and the keys to the garage to get out the lawn mower.

I quickly got to work. I wanted to finish as soon as possible. All the more sooner to go up to my room and start crying for being such a coward about the whole Edward situation.

I find it really frustrating that I have absolutely no problem having a simple, stress-free conversation with the boy, but when it comes to telling him what he needs to hear, I can't do it. And I'm going to have to one of these days. I don't know which side of me is stronger. The one that's always chickening out or the one that wants to tell him. There's a constant battle going on between the two in my head.

I was a few minutes into mowing the lawn then the unthinkable happened. And I mean the unthinkable. Edward appeared in my driveway. And I was in servant's clothes!

"Hi, Isabella." He said when he saw me. It wasn't hard, considering we were the only people present.

"Ugh…umm…." _Idiot! Say hi to him!_ "Hi. What- what are you doing here?"

"Umm...Jasper wanted me to pick up a book for him from Alice."

"Oh. For school?" Because those are the only books Alice has in her possession.

"Yeah, I guess." He spoke as he removed his sunglasses.

"Okay." I looked down. "Well, she's probably inside so you could ring the doorbell." _No he can't, stupid. You always answer the door. _

"Thanks."

I nodded as he walked past me. I looked at him as he approached the front door and turned back and continued working once I saw that he did. The roar of the lawn mower started so I never knew if the door had been answered. Just as the lawn mower began quieting down, I heard Edward from behind me.

"You know what?" he yelled to ensure that I would hear him through the noise. I hastily shut off the machine. "I lied. There is no book. I came down here because I wanted to talk to you. But I figured you were inside so imagine my surprise seeing you outside. And now I feel like a dumb-ass for having to make up a stupid story. So I'll just come out with it. Would you like to have dinner with me sometime?"

_Wow. Wait, did he just ask me out?"_

"Umm… err… I…." _Do NOT screw this up, Swan! Say yes! Yes!_ "Sure." I replied coolly. "That'd be nice."

"Alright, cool so I'll pick you up Friday at seven?"

"Yeah, that's a good time."

"Okay, I'll see you then."

"Okay. Bye." I yelled as he began walking away. With a short, quick wave, he hopped into his car and drove off.

And so began the Halleluiah chorus in my head.

**Feel free to review!**


	14. Stories to Be Told

**Sorry for the wait! Here's chapter 14. Enjoy!**

Don't even ask how I managed to get Friday night off. The important thing is that I did.

Jacob's reaction upon hearing it was better than mine. It seemed like all his anger at me suddenly went away.

Friday could not have come sooner. The entire school week literally flashed before my eyes. I could not wait until seven o'clock came by. But that changed with an idea Jacob had at lunch.

It was halfway through the period when Jacob spoke his mind.

"So are you going to tell him tonight, Bella?"

"Tell him what?" Jacob gave me a straight face.

"About you being Cinderella."

"Oh. Well, I wasn't really planning on telling him tonight." _(Or ever.)_

"Why not? It's the perfect opportunity."

"Because Jacob, in case you need reminding, he asked me out, not Cinderella." Jacob put up his hands in defeat.

"Whatever. But you know you're going to have to tell him at some point right? Especially if you two start getting serious."

"It's just a date Jacob. And there's a pretty good chance he won't even like me in a romantic way. Surely he sees Alice and Rosalie and believes I'm just like them."

"Or not."

"Well Jacob, stop bothering me!" I exclaimed as I stabbed my mystery meat. "I'll tell him when it's time to. Would you like if on your first date with someone they told you huge secret? Probably not. So just drop it okay?"

"Okay." He mumbled angrily.

* * *

Three o'clock couldn't have come any quicker. Neither could four, five, or even six. Before I knew it, it was 6:30 and I was nowhere near ready for my date with Edward. Long story short, I was a nervous wreck and had no idea how to calm down. I considered calling Jacob as a refuge. I even considered faking sick and not going at all. I soon realized, however, that my anxiety level would be way low if I wasn't harboring the Cinderella secret.

Deep in my own thoughts, I barely registered when the doorbell rang. I got up from my bed and let out a squeal (yes, a squeal) before opening the door and walking out of my bedroom. I checked the clock: 7:00 on the whistle. And isn't it lovely that the first I see when I get visibility of the foyer is Edward standing next to Alice and Rosalie?

"Isabella!" Alice cheered when she saw me. "Why didn't you tell us you were going out with Edward tonight? We could have gone on a triple date!" She finished while nudging Rosalie.

"Alice, clearly she didn't want us interfering." Rosalie answered for me while giving me the death stare.

"Nonsense, Rosalie." She shook her off. "So where are you two off to tonight?"

"I am going to take Isabella out to dinner." Edward replied while looking at me.

"Oh, where?" Alice pondered. Edward turned to look at her.

"At a restaurant, Alice." He said firmly, ending the interrogation. "Are you ready?" He asked me, and I got a huge sense that he was just as, if not more, nervous than me. I noticed Alice and Rosalie glance at one another.

"Umm... bye girls."

"Bye." They said in unison.

Edward held the door open for me and shut it quietly behind him. We walked to his car and he, like a gentleman, held the passenger door open.

"Thanks." I mumbled.

Our ride to the restaurant wasn't long, nor was there any awkwardness. We made simple small talk and completely stayed away from the topic of Cinderella.

As of now, things were going smoothly. We were seated in a secluded booth in one of Summit's best restaurants. At least that's what Edward told me. I don't think I've ever felt more comfortable. I seriously considered telling him my secret. But it would be rude to interrupt him while he was telling me his life story. It was like reliving the night of the party all over again, only this time, I wasn't being Cinderella. It was a little grueling to sit through, I'll admit. I just hope that didn't show on my face.

"Oh, sorry. Am I boring you?" His voice sounded alert.

"What? No! Not at all."

"God, I'm such a jerk, I've been talking about myself for the past ten minutes."

"That's okay."

"Tell me about yourself, Isabella."

"Umm…."

"I mean, your stepsisters barely talk about you so I really don't know much. How did they become part of your family anyway?" I looked down at my lap. I rarely speak about my mother's death, my dad meeting Esme and what happened beyond that. I've only ever said it once; to Jacob.

Realizing what happened, Edward spoke.

"I'm sorry Bella, - do you mind if I call you Bella?"

I smiled and looked up at him.

"I'd love for you to call me Bella."

He smiled back.

"Okay. But if you're uncomfortable talking about it, it's-."

"No, no. I'll tell you. Well, basically, my mom died giving birth to me. So I never got to meet-." I suddenly remembered the locket. I wonder if he had it on him. "Meet her. My dad was devastated but he kept on going and raised me as a single parent. When I was six, he met Esme in a coffee shop while waiting for a client for a meeting. He was a lawyer, and very well-known and successful. They began seeing each other and married a year later. And well, that's how Rosalie and Alice came into my life. When I was nine, my dad had to fly to Dallas for a big case. The plane had a slight engine problem. The pilots took off though, because they didn't think it would cause any trouble." I sighed. "But they were wrong. The plane went down somewhere in New Mexico. I don't remember exactly where." I finished and didn't notice I started crying until I reached a hand up to my face. I looked at Edward, who looked like he would start crying at any moment.

"So that's pretty much it. I think around eight months after the crash, you and your family moved into town. You know the rest." He nodded.

"So wait, everything just went to Esme? She kept everything?"

"He didn't leave a will. At least, not one I know about. So since she's his wife…." He nodded again.

"I'm so sorry Bella. That's a horrible experience to go through at such a young age. You didn't see anyone about it?"

"You mean like a shrink?" He nodded. "No. I believed I was strong enough to get over it myself. I still fully haven't yet but I don't think I ever will."

"Of course. I know how you feel. My mom died due to drunk driving."

"She did?"

"Yeah, it was terrible. I was only three. My mom loved to be the center of attention and would do whatever it took to get it. My dad loved that about her. One night she went off to one of her friend's birthday parties. And everything was going good. She was having a good time, having fun, and then her friend's boyfriend proposed. So automatically all the attention went to her newly engaged friend. She felt out of the loop. See, up until that point, her friend was the only one in the close circle that wasn't engaged or married. Once she got engaged, that made my mom the only one not going through the excitement of preparing a wedding. And she couldn't stand that. She isolated herself and had a few drinks. She left but no one noticed. I don't think she was even halfway home when she crashed into that store window." I think the tears in Edward's eyes were there ever since the beginning of his story. I ran my hand across the table, past our plates of pasta, and held his hand.

"Thank you for telling me that. It means a lot that you trust me with that." He gave me a wry smile and held my hand tightly.

"They don't really talk about it, Jasper and Emmett. And my dad will never forgive her for not calling him to pick her up. That was just a tragic day in all our lives."

I remembered something.

"Esme and the girls think your parents are divorced."

"I know. That's what we tell everyone, because we really don't like talking about it."

"It doesn't do any good to lie about it, or pretend it never happened."

"I know." He repeated. "We just really loved her. I know every family says that when they've lost a loved one, but you really have no idea how much we loved her. We accept the fact that she's never coming back, but it pains all of us to repeat the story to anyone who gets close to any of us." I nodded, somewhat understanding.

"So then why are you telling me?" He looked at me and stared into my eyes.

"I'm not really sure. I think it's because in the short amount of time I've known you, I know I can trust you. I can tell you anything. You have such a big heart and so much to share. You're in need of someone to be there for you and for you to be there for. You're nothing at all like you're family and now I understand why. You're an amazing person, whether you know it or not. You're one of those rare, good people that are very hard to find nowadays. I think that's why I told you."

I looked down and blushed, then immediately felt guilty.

"Edward, there's something I need to tell you. I know you think I'm honest and good and all that but-."

"Everything okay?" Our waiter, whose nametag read 'James', approached our table and asked.

"Yeah thanks. Everything's fine. Great pasta." James smiled.

"Glad to know you're enjoying it." He walked off.

"What were you saying?" Edward questioned.

"Umm…." I shook my head, thought quickly, and pointed down at my plate. "I actually really don't like this pasta." He chuckled.

About forty minutes later, we were in the car on our way home, laughing and smiling since we left the restaurant. We talked about music, school, and that confrontation with Jacob at the movie theater two weeks ago.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Seeing as he's my best friend, he's a bit overprotective of me. He likes to pretend that he's my boyfriend sometimes to prevent other guys from hitting on me." I lied through my teeth.

"But you don't mind kissing him?" he asked, slightly bewildered.

"Well, that kiss was a little unexpected, but I have kissed him before so it wasn't too awkward."

"Wow." He laughed while shaking his head. "So does he know you're here with me?"

"Yep. It took some persuasion but…." We both roared with laughter.

"What's his name again? Jaime?"

"Jacob! How come nobody can remember that?"

"Jacob, Jacob. Alright. I'll remember."

"Try to at least." I laughed.

We pulled up to my driveway and he stopped the car. I swear I saw a curtain closing on a window on the second floor.

"Do you mind if I ask you something?" He questioned.

"Sure. Go ahead."

"You were at my party right?"

I gulped.

"Yeah."

"I know I'm going to sound like an ass for talking about another girl while on a date with one but, did you happen to see that girl I was with?" I stayed silent and looked away. From my body language, he misunderstood. "Damn it. God, I'm a jerk. Okay, just forget I asked."

"No, no it's fine. I know who you're talking about. But sorry, I haven't seen her."

"But you know what she looks like?"

"Well, kind of."

"Okay. I just- I need to find her. You have no idea what it's doing to me Bella. I have to see her again. I'm pretty sure this-." He reached into his pants pocket. "belongs to her." And he pulled out my locket. My mouth dropped open. I couldn't help it. "Beautiful, right?" I nodded slowly. "Yep. Simple and beautiful. Just like her."

"Have-have you been able to open that?"

"Uh huh. I'm going to use it for evidence for whatever girl claims to be my Cinderella. She has to guess what's inside and go into detail about it. I don't suppose you'd like to try?"

"Well, there's a picture I'm assuming. It _is_ a locket."

"Very good, but you'd be surprised at the amount of girls who would not guess that." I laughed.

"I know."

"But they would have to say more than that. Describe the picture. What is it of, does it have any kind of meaning? Something like that."

"Oh. Well, good luck I guess?" I reached for the locket. He pulled it away and placed it in his jacket pocket. I smiled weakly at him and mentally slapped myself. "Thanks for dinner, Edward. I had fun. It was great to get to know you and thanks for everything. We should probably do it again sometime." _Probably? Bella, you're an idiot._

"Definitely." Then came silence, where I didn't know what to do. Before I could think of anything though, Edward leaned forward and kissed my cheek. Well, there. Awkwardness over. With a quick smile, I opened the door and stepped out.

"Bye." I whispered. He did the same and I walked around his car and towards my house, giving a quick wave before I entered. He was reversing out of the driveway as I closed the door behind me. I had only walked three steps when I heard Rosalie's voice.

"Hi, Isabella. How was your date?"

"Oh, it was-."

"Don't care. Are you aware you left Alice and I without any dinner?"

"I'm sorry. I just thought you were going to go out with Jasper and Emmett."

"Well, you thought wrong." Our entire conversation occurred as she proceeded towards and up the stairs.

* * *

I hadn't seen Jacob this morning but didn't think much of it. No way was he absent. He's a model student. I found him, though, on my way to first period when he nearly tackled me in the hallway.

"Jacob, you scared the crap out of me!"

"Never mind that. How did it go on Friday?"

I shrugged. "It was alright." He gave me that straight face of his. "What? It was. We had dinner-."

"Where did he take you?"

"I don't remember. It was like a color and room or lounge."

"The Cerulean Lounge?"

"Yeah, that."

"Bella, do you know that's the best restaurant in Summit? I heard they charge you just to be seated!"

"Oh. Well, I didn't know that."

"So what else happened?"

"We just ate and talked. Talked about our lives and why they have to suck so much. I can't really tell you much of the personal stuff…."

"Did you tell him?"

I took a deep breath. "No."

"Bella."

"I couldn't- I just couldn't. He shared something with me that was heartfelt and deep and I couldn't just drop that on him after telling me that. It wouldn't have been the right time. But on the bright side, you were right."

"About?"

"The locket. You were right about it. He had it with him, he showed it to me. He's going to use it for the girl to prove she's Cinderella. She has to guess what's inside of it in detail."

"And you know exactly what's in it."

"Yes."

"Well, you're not going to do anything about it anyway."

"Jacob!"

"You're not, Bells. Look at this, you went on a date with the guy and couldn't tell him."

"I already told you why I couldn't!"

"Well, that's your business, Bella. Are you going to see him again?"

"I don't know, maybe. But just as friends."

"Well, either way you should definitely get close to him. It'll just break his heart more when you do tell him."

"Jacob…." I rolled my eyes and left him by entering my class. Why was Jake so damn impatient? I'm going to tell Edward whenever I feel like telling Edward. It's not even any of his business. And if I continue to see Edward and never have the courage to tell him my secret, then so be it.

**That was kind of a crappy way to end the chapter. Oh well. So how ironic is it that while I was typing Bella telling Edward about Charlie's death, the Glee versions of 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand' and 'I Dreamed a Dream' came on from my playlist? **

**For this chapter, I noticed I really developed the character of Edward's mom. That wasn't even planned prior to writing this chapter. I could write a lot about her. I really went into depth with her in my head while writing about her death.**

**To anyone out there who has ever lost a loved one, I'm truly sorry. A death is never an easy thing to get through. And if anything said or discussed in this chapter offended or disrespected any of you in any way, I am again, sorry.**

**Please review!**


	15. Engagments and Evil Doings

**So first off, I'd just like to apologize if it starts to sound like I'm wrapping up the story. In all honesty, I am. But with the last chapters on their way, rest assured I will NOT disappoint! (Hopefully….) Enjoy!**

**Oh, and for the story, let's all pretend Seth and Leah are not related….**

A few months passed and Jacob and I had passed the threshold into our senior year. That meant college applications, sending in SAT scores, and praying you get into the school you wanted. For me and Edward, it was Dartmouth all the way. I had applied to other schools though. I wasn't stupid.

Speaking of Edward, he and I were growing quite close. Not romantically, might I add before you rush into any conclusions. Just as friends. Jacob, too, got close to Edward and the three of us were hanging out on a regular basis. Edward fit right in, as if he were there from the beginning. But in all that time and many opportunities I've had, I've never once come close to telling him the truth. He's bought it up though, plenty of times. And even though each one of his searches failed, they started becoming less and less frequent. It seemed like he was giving up. Jacob and I knew better though. We knew he never would.

This Thanksgiving, something unbelievable happened. My family and the Cullen family ate Thanksgiving dinner **together.** It was all Carlisle's idea. He figured that since Edward and I were friends, both our families were now intertwined and having Thanksgiving dinner together would be the perfect way to celebrate it.

Esme, the girls, and I went over at around five. When we arrived, we went into the living room, had some drinks, and made conversation for about half an hour. Every couple to itself, of course. Rosalie with Emmett, Alice with Jasper, and Esme with Carlisle.

Carlisle soon called us into the dining room where a bigger feast could not have been made. There was a huge turkey whose stuffing made it look like it was about to explode. There were also string beans, sweet and mashed potatoes, corn, peas, asparagus, brussel sprouts, cranberry sauce, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, all kinds of salads, baked beans, and finally coleslaw. And there were only eight of us. I found it a little hard to believe that four men could have possibly created that. But I decided to keep my mouth shut.

We took our seats next to our prospective partners and proceeded to say grace. We all took our turns saying a little something and I was, of course, cut off by Esme who felt I was taking too long. After the last person went (Jasper), we dug in. I must say, that was perhaps the best meal, Thanksgiving or not, that I've had in a really long time.

A little under an hour later, I was more stuffed than the turkey at the beginning of dinner, and I'm sure everyone else was. During dinner, everyone was involved in one conversation. But as dinner was wrapping up, every pair was breaking off into their own. Carlisle bought out a pumpkin pie, which Edward confessed to me was store bought. That made me wonder about the rest….

"Umm, everybody listen up." Carlisle clinked his glass, trying to get everyone's attention. "Before we have dessert, I would just like to say something." The seven of us faced him. "Yesterday marked the seven year anniversary that I met the wonderful woman sitting to my right." He was obviously referring to Esme. "It didn't take me long to fall in love with her, and, I hope I'm not mistaken, I'm sure she loves me too." I could see Esme nod. "Esme is an amazing person who has had to go through so much in her life, That she has managed to keep a head held high and survive through it all has only made me admire her even more." Wow. What a bunch of bull. Alice and Rosalie both had the identical poses of having one hand in their boyfriend's, the other hand over their hearts, and a lovey-dovey look on their faces. I, on the other hand, must have looked like I was about to gag. "Esme's struggled as a single mom for a few years to two wonderful, beautiful girls. And after her first marriage, she got another." He winked at me and I smiled wryly. Alice and Rosalie turned to look at one another at the mention of themselves then hastily turned back to Carlisle.

After releasing a breath, he got down on one knee. Alice and Rosalie gasped, Emmett and Jasper's jaws dropped, my eyes widened simply out of surprise, Esme's eyes bulged while her hand went to cover her mouth, and Edward sat motionless. Although, Edward's expression kind of looked like he was expecting it.

"Esme," he continued, looking into her eyes. "I could not think of a better group of people to do this in front of whether than our children. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to be the happiest man in the world and I know you're the main method of doing that." At this point he pulled out the ring and opened the little box. It took a lot of willpower not to roll my eyes. "Esme, will you marry me?"

For the next ten seconds the atmosphere was so quiet, you could hear the footsteps of tourists in New York. Then: "Oh Carlisle, of course I will!" She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him and kissed him. The girls applauded and had tears in their eyes, while the boys (Edward included) hollered and high-fived. I gave my best I'm-so-happy-for-you smile and clapped quietly.

I saw Carlisle place the ring on her finger and boy, was that rock shiny. Needless to say, the rest of the night went off great.

We got home around eleven and the newly engaged Esme told us not to bother as she was going to go off and call all her friends and tell them the good news.

I began texting Jacob on the ride back and we were talking about how our Thanksgiving went. He spent it with his father and grandparents a few towns away. I didn't send the text that revealed the 'great' news until I was up in the comfort and familiarity of my own bedroom.

Ten seconds later, I received a phone call from Jacob.

I laughed quietly, plopped down on my bed, hit the answer button, and held the phone up to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Are you fucking serious?" I laughed harder this time.

"Yep. It was very romantic, might I add. All 'Esme did this, Esme did that, Esme's a wonderful person, blah blah blah!'"

"Ha. Wow. So she said yes, I'm assuming?"

"Obviously. You really think she would say no at another chance to marry into money?"

"What did Edward say?"

"I think Edward saw it coming. He kind of had this look on his face that looked like he was expecting it."

"Oh. Interesting."

"Yeah. So how did Emily's Thanksgiving go?" There's something I forgot to mention. Jacob and Emily have been dating for a while now. Since late July, to be more specific. In all honesty, it was really cute how they got together. But the pest part was that upon returning to school on September, Emily completely ditched Leah in order to stay with Jacob. That won my automatic approval and I welcomed Emily in with open arms. And thus Leah was thrown into a huge despair. After being dumped by one of her trio, she had to find some way to make her comeback. A way to remind everyone at Summit High who's the boss. Therefore, her attempts with Edward became stronger and, with each failed try, embarrassingly unsuccessful. It looked like Leah place at the top was quickly dwindling down.

"Hers was good. She and her parents went to her sisters' apartment in the city."

"Aww, that's nice. Well Jacob, I'm going to get some sleep. I'll talk to you and tell you all about the proposal on Monday."

"Alright. Good night."

"Good night." We hung up. I took a long sigh and thought the night's events. It's definitely been a long and unforgettable one. I got up and walked around my bed to get ready to go to sleep when I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in." I said, not looking up.

"You enjoyed dinner?" It was Rosalie and after she opened the door all the way, she leaned against the doorway.

What the hell?

"Yeah. It was good."

"Congrats to mom, right?" She gave me a half smile. What, she was referring Esme as my mother now?

"Yeah. I'm really happy for her." She folded her arms.

"Uh huh." She stared at me. I continued along with my business feeling slightly uncomfortable with her looking at me.

"Well, good night Isabella." She straightened herself and started to turn away.

"Good night."

* * *

"So that's pretty much how it happened." Edward finished. We were walking down the hallway at school on Monday and Edward had volunteered to tell Jacob the story of how Carlisle proposed. I thought by having Edward tell the story, it would reveal how he felt about the whole thing. But no such luck, seeing as he recalled the whole night in an expressionless tone.

"Hi-yah!" We heard a yell coming from behind and quickly turned around to see Emily jump on Jacob's back and Jacob catching her perfectly, as if they had done that a million times. "Good morning, boyfriend!" Emily chimed and kissed his cheek.

"Good morning gorgeous." Jacob smiled his huge smile at her. He let go of her and she kept to his side, holding hands.

"So what are you guys talking about?" she asked.

"Bella's stepmom got engaged to Edward's dad on Thanksgiving night." Jacob explained.

"Oh yeah, I heard about that." We all stopped and looked at her. "Alice is bantering about it down the hall." We kept walking as each one of us either reacted by shaking our heads or rolling our eyes. "Well, congrats anyway." She spoke in mine and Edward's direction. He smiled kindly while I mumbled, 'Thanks, I guess.'

"Well, I'm going to go." Edward announced. "My first class is on the other side of the building and I don't want to be late. See you guys later." He nodded at us as we waved and said our goodbyes.

I turned to Emily.

"So Emily how was your holiday?"

Just as she began to talk, the doors opened, and a boy I've never seen before came through. He had what looked like a class schedule and a school map in each hand. He was, clearly, lost.

"Hey," I called. He picked his head up from his papers and looked at me. "Do you need any help?" I walked up to him, Jake and Emily following behind. He smiled shyly.

"Yeah, I'm looking for room 19-A."

"Oh, that's downstairs. That's my first class actually. I'll take you there."

"Thanks." He smiled. I smiled back. The warning bell rang.

"Bella, we have to go." Jacob gestured towards him and Emily.

"Okay, I'll see you guys later." We waved at each other before they turned away. I gestured for the new guy to walk with me. "It's not far, but it would be faster if we go through the hall."

"Okay," he spoke. We started walking.

"So what's your name?" I tried to make conversation.

"Seth." He stuck his hand out. I giggled. "You?"

"Isabella, but call me Bella if you want."

"Ahh, Bella. Like Spanish for 'beautiful'." I squinted my eyes and smiled.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. So you just moved here?"

"Yeah, just last week. From Seattle." I stopped dead.

"Why the hell would you move from Seattle to Summit?" I practically spit out 'Summit'.

"I don't know. Change of scene I guess?" he shrugged.

"Well, I'm sure you'll enjoy it anyway. Welcome to Summit High!" I threw my hands open and did my best to sound like a tour guide. "So what are you?" I scanned him quickly. "Fifteen?"

"Sixteen."

"So you're a sophomore?"

"Junior."

"Oh." The doors to the stairs were already opened and as we walked downstairs, he told me more about himself as I listened intently. Overall, he seemed like a really normal guy. Two parents, one younger brother, born and raised properly in the busy city of Seattle, Washington. When we got into the classroom, I graciously offered him the seat next to me, seeing as the person that usually sits there, Tyler, was absent. I introduced him to the teacher and she introduced herself and caught him up on what the class was doing the previous week.

Seth seemed like a really cool guy and I discovered that we had three other classes together, which is odd considering he was a grade below me. But it didn't matter, I had a feeling Seth would become, if he chose to be, a great friend to me.

* * *

That school week seemed to pass by extremely quickly. And that week just passed by like every other one since I realized my feelings for Edward nearly six months ago. Yes, I was still crushing hard on Edward and yes, he still had no idea. I've been hiding two secrets from him and feel absolutely horrible. Us becoming closer and closer to me every passing day was definitely not helping.

So I decided to tell him.

Or at least, the Cinderella secret.

See, I figured that if I were to tell him my feelings and something good results in that telling him the Cinderella secret afterwards would completely destroy our relationship, platonic or not, and he would never be able to trust me again. Whereas, if I tell him about Cinderella first, he'll automatically fall in love with me, which will make it much easier to tell him how I feel. It's a great plan in my opinion.

But I couldn't just do it randomly.

I made a dinner reservation for Friday. I think it's best to tell him major news like this privately and secluded from anyone we might encounter. This is why the restaurant I chose is in the next town over. Jacob was right the entire time. I've been nothing but a coward and now it's time to fess up and face the truth. Everyone knows Edward's mystery girl is going to have to come out and show herself some day. And that day will be Friday.

Esme, being super-duper happy that she's engaged, has been awfully nice lately and gave me that Friday off. The next second I called Edward to ask if he would like to join me for dinner that night. He agreed and I felt like when he did, he was smiling on the other side.

But as luck would have it, Esme changed her mind. She instead set me to paint her bedroom because according her, you change once you become engaged. You want to become a new person and change your view on life. Especially, the colors of the rooms in your house because God forbid if they don't scream 'engaged to be married'. But I was allowed out if I finished at an 'appropriate' time. So after school, on Friday, that was the first thing I set off to do. After asking the members of my household if they know where the paint and paintbrushes were and receiving a snooty answer from Rosalie, I made the treacherous voyage to my basement.

I hate going to the basement. It's dark, cold, and not to mention creepy. It's the most unglamorous part of my house. I just wanted to get in there and get out as quickly as I possibly could. I ran to where the paint and brushes were kept and started looking for the exact shade of blue Esme requested/ I knew we had it because it was the same blue my dad had painted the half bathroom on the first floor when he first bought the house. After his death, Esme had the house remodeled and told the hired help to paint said bathroom sunshine yellow.

But now the blue was going to be used for Esme's bedroom walls. The paint hadn't been used in years, so I had no idea how far along the shelf it was.

As I started taking down can after can, I started hearing noises. It sounded like footsteps but very soft. Then came a few squeaks. I continued doing what I was doing but stopped right after I heard a crash. It wasn't loud, but it was enough to get my attention. Before I could put any more thought into it, I heard something that made me jump.

"Hey, beautiful." I whipped my head back.

"My God, Jacob, you scared the crap out of me!" he smiled.

"How did you get in here anyway?"

"Through the back. What are you doing?" I sighed.

"Esme wants her room painted periwinkle blue as her own celebration of her engagement." I made a face and rolled my eyes. "I'm looking for the paint."

"Oh. That sucks. What are you doing later? Emily and I wanted to invite you to go bowling. We're going to invite Edward too. She's just waiting in the car."

"I already have plans with Edward later. Sorry, I forgot to tell you. I want to take him to a really- Aha! Yes!" I found the paint. "A really nice dinner."

"Oh." said Jacob suggestively.

"No Jacob, not like that. I've decided that tonight's the night." I started to place the cans back on the shelf. Even with my back turned I could see the huge, obvious question mark on Jacob's face. "The night I tell him, I'm Cinderella, Jacob."

"Oh. Well, good for you Bella!"

"But if I don't finish painting, I can't go. I might not finish on time."

"You and Edward are getting kind of serious huh?" Jacob brought up, completely ignoring what I just said.

"We're just friends Jacob. You know that. Just like you and me."

"You've never taken me out to a nice, fancy dinner!" he retorted with a tint of playful jealously.

"Because you have a girlfriend. And besides, you know how important this is for me. I don't know how he'll take it. I figured if we're in a quiet environment, it might calm him down a bit. Maybe he won't cause a big scene."

"He's going to flip, Bella."

"I know, I know, I just don't want him to hate me. I mean, we're such good friends now and I don't want it to end."

"This never would have happened if you had just told him in the first place."

"Thank you for the reminder, Jacob." I said through clenched teeth.

"Hey, I just speak the tr-."

"Shh!" I thought I heard something rustling by the stairs, followed by some footsteps.

A few seconds later, Alice's petite body turned the corner and met up with Jacob and I.

"Hi Isabella. Hello Jeffrey."

"It's Jacob."

"Right. So you're looking for the paint if I'm not mistaken, Isabella?"

"Yeah."

"Cool. So once you're done with my mom's room, you need to do mine. I want mine painted pink!" Are you kidding me?There's no way I'll be able to meet Edward now! Stupid Alice ruins everything!

"ALICE, YOU-!" I felt Jacob's calming hand on my upper arm. Alice stood looking at me innocently, batting her perfectly curled eyelashes. "You don't even like pink, Alice."

"Sure I do! But you might need to go buy some pink paint because I don't think we have any."

"Can't you just choose a color that we have here?" I asked as patiently as I could, trying not to knock her little teeth out.

"No. We don't have pink, and that's the color I want." She smiled at me and Jacob. "Okay, thank you." She turned and left.

"I can't believe this." I mumbled. "Can you drive me to the hardware store?"

"Sure. Does she usually do that kind of thing?"

"Much worse actually. I'm going to have to call Edward in a bit."

"Bella, don't you think she heard? What we were saying about Edward?"

"She's a bitch Jacob, but that dog can't hear."

"But don't you see it? She was probably eavesdropping on how you might not get to go out with Edward and tell him the truth if you don't finish painting. So now she's just giving you more to do."

I thought a minute.

"That would also mean…. You're scaring me Jacob. I would expect her to just tell me to do that just to be mean. I really don't think she overheard." I said that, but felt immensely worried.

Jacob looked at me, very unsure.

"If you say so, Bella."

"Jacob, I really don't think she overheard."

Right?

**Alice's POV**

So Isabella Swan is Cinderella. Ha! Who would have thought that it would end up being my very own stepsister? Oh, this is just too good! The level of destruction I could cause with this information is unthinkable! I don't know why I didn't see it though. I mean, all the clues were there. Not to mention the way she looks at him and the amount of time she spends with him. It's no wonder she always acts weird whenever Rose and I talk about Edward's mystery girl in front of her. It was her the whole time! And that friend of hers was saying how Edward's going to flip when she tells him…which means he doesn't even know. Isabella's been keeping it a secret from him all this time. Well, Edward has to know now. It's only the thing he's been dying to find out for months. It's too bad she was planning on telling him over that special little dinner that, thanks to me, she won't even be able to get to. No worries though Isabella. I'll be sure Edward gets the message. Alice will take care of everything.

**Muhahahaha! My God, I'm horrible! Okay, so just relax. Inhale, exhale and I'll see you all when I post the next chapter! **

**Please leave a review!**


	16. Smiles of Satisfaction

**So I'd like to start off by apologize for the horrible way I write Edward's POV. Being a girl kind of prevents me from doing that so well. Kudos to girls that can! Enjoy and Happy Fathers' Day! I hope there's some father out there reading this….**

**Edward's POV**

I am about to give up. I'm serious. I'm just going to quit. I've been searching for the girl for months. I spent my summer vacation looking for her, not realizing how pathetic that was until now. This girl better show up soon. Otherwise, I don't know what I'll do. I've been dying to see her since my party, which to me, felt like it was 500 years ago. If I could have at least gotten her name….

Oh well. I couldn't think about her now. As tough as it was, I had to put her aside. There was other stuff going on. I'd started a pretty good friendship with Jacob, Bella, and of course Emily, whom Jacob was rarely seen without. I much more than approved of their relationship. I admired it. The way they stay together against all odds is just…well damn, it's just plain admirable. I wish them the best.

And then there's Bella.

I don't know what it is about her. But there's something about her I really REALLY like. And ever since we went on out date a few months ago, I've been feeling a strong connection between us. I know I had feelings for her prior to my party and that they completely went away after I met my mystery girl. But…I don't know. Bella's really…special. I care a lot about her but being friends with her has made me see her in a new perspective. Are the romantic feelings rushing back? I don't know. But Bella has become a special person to me and I really like spending time with her. And Jacob and Emily, of course.

Thanksgiving dinner was…eventful. My dad proposed to Esme and everyone seemed really excited. Except for Bella. I mean, it's no breaking news that Bella isn't fond of her family, but no one really knows why. Well, I suppose Esme is a bit difficult. And Rosalie and Alice aren't exactly angels. But as long as my father's happy, that's all that matters. He deserves to be with someone who loves him after what he went through many years ago. If Esme is who he wants to be with, then so be it.

**Bella's POV**

I spent my lunch period in the library doing some studying and catching up on homework. While reviewing for my upcoming history test, I heard a voice behind me.

"Oh hey, Bella." It was Emily.

"Hey." I stood up and gave her a hug.

"What are you doing?"

"Just studying. You can sit if you want." She did.

"This is the library, right?" I smiled and slightly shook my head.

"Yeah."

"Oh, okay. I decided to take a detour out of the building and ended up here." I giggled at Emily's attempt to keep her stupid facade.

"You know Emily, you don't have to act like that."

"Like what?"

"Emily, I don't understand why you would want people to think of you like that. You're beautiful, smart, a great friend, and I know Jacob thinks you're an amazing girlfriend." I took her hand.

"It's just… I've always wanted to be considered special and to stand out. I want people to know who I am. If acting like an idiot is what it takes, then alright."

"Jacob likes you the way you are though." She nodded.

"That's why I'm myself when I'm with him. I sound all intellectual and shit." We laughed. "I really like Jacob. I do. I'm honored to be with him. He's amazing. He's _nothing_ how I thought he was. That's why we're so good for each other. People take one look at either of us or hear rumors and they judge us from that. We belong to the same category but being together helps us get through it. I like it. A lot." I smiled.

"That's awesome."

"Yeah. So you and Edward?" I laughed nervously.

"What? What about Edward?"

"Come on Bella…." She gestured for me to keep going. I shrugged cluelessly. She hit the table with her palms and went to get up. "Are you done? Studying and all that?" It didn't matter if I was or not. She was going to drag me with her anyway. I closed and gathered up my books. She smiled, jumped happily, and walked out of the library, with me following her.

Once we were out in the hallway, Emily linked arms with me and started walking faster.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"For some girl talk!"

"Emily…." I groaned.

Less than a minute later, we were sitting on a bench in the quad, the breeze on our faces and the sun shining brightly above us. I sat but stayed quiet, not wanting to say anything. Emily started.

"Okay, Bella, just say it. It's cool. You can tell me. Admit you're into Edward."

"I- I'm- I'm not."

Emily gave me a straight face.

"What? I'm not. Edward's a friend. I care about him and all but I don't like him like…that."

"Sure you don't."

"Where are you getting that from anyway?"

"Bella, it's totally obvious! It reads on your face!" I looked away. "I've seen the way you look at him. The way you giggle and get nervous whenever you talk to him. Those are signs of love, Bella." I blushed.

"It doesn't matter. He wants to find his Cinderella and-."

"Oh Bella, please! You ARE Cinderella!" My eyes shot up to hers.

"How the hell do you know that?" Emily gulped, suddenly scared of me.

"Jacob told me."

"I'll kill him!" I started to get up. Emily held my wrist and pulled me down.

"Bella, don't. It's okay. I'm not going to tell anyone. I want you to trust me the way Jacob does. I'm your friend. I wouldn't do that to you." I looked at her. She seemed sincere, like she really cared.

"Okay." I whispered.

"Why are you doing it?"

"What?"

"Lying to him. You know you're the girl he wants. You're the one he's waited his entire life for and you're not even going to tell him. Why?"

"I can't. I told you, I care too much about him to hurt him. Telling him this will just destroy him."

"So why didn't you tell him earlier? Like the day after? Surely, you want your locket back?" I grinned.

"I see Jacob told you everything." She gave a wry smile and nodded. "I was too scared. I mean, the great Edward Cullen was interested in _me_. Would you believe it? If I told him it was me. He would have felt like an idiot for falling for someone like me and just forgotten about me. I would have woken up from my dream. So I just didn't tell him. I have tried to though, especially as we got closer. But either the time is never right or I chicken out." Emily nodded slowly, understanding me.

"But you're right. I need my locket back. Did Jacob tell you why?"

"Yeah." I shook my head playfully.

"Then you understand why."

"Yeah." She repeated. I sighed. "Well, Bella if things don't work out with Edward, I know someone else who would be interested."

What the hell?

"Who?"

"Seth."

"Seth…Olsen? The new kid?"

"Yeah." I squinted my eyes in confusion. "He likes you Bella. I can tell."

"How?"

"The way he is around you…" She paused and looked around, searching for the right words to finish her sentence. "Is the same way you are around Edward. Only you handle yourself better."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's say we were in the hallway and you trip in front of Edward. Seth would fall in front of you. You spill some coffee on the floor. Seth would spill the whole thing on himself."

"You read him so well."

"He's crazy about you."

"I've only known him for two weeks!"

"And after Jacob kissed me for the very first time, it took me less than two days to fall for him. Love has no time minimum, Bella. It just happens." I smiled a big smile.

"Thank you for talking to me, Emily. I think you know I don't really have any girlfriends to talk about this kind of thing with. But I'm glad to have you." She smiled too and grabbed my hand.

"I'm glad to be here."

"Thank you for everything. What you've done so far and will do in the future. You have no idea how happy I am that I have someone other than Jacob I can trust everything with." She giggled. "But just so you know, if you ever hurt him, you die."

"Believe me, I'm very aware of that."

**Alice's POV**

I can't believe I've been hiding this for so long. I mean seriously, it's been like, killing me. I haven't blabbed a secret in two weeks, forget that it's one of Isabella's.

Let me tell you, when I found out about Isabella's secret, it felt like the day I got my convertible: so elated that I felt invincible. But I also had to tell someone. And my beautiful sister Rosalie would do the trick.

I knocked on her bedroom door and waited a few seconds.

"Come in." Her airy voice called.

"Hi Rosalie." I piped up as I entered. She was lying down listening to her iPod with her perfectly pedicured feet up against the wall.

"Hello little sister." She loved to work that pun in whenever she had the chance. She removed one of her earphones.

"Hi." I skipped up to her desk chair, (which was NEVER used) rolled it up to her, and sat. "I have to tell you something."

"Go ahead."

"I don't really know how to begin…. It's amazing news…."

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed, hitting the bed with her hand and propping herself up on her palms, her blond hair whipping the air. "You and Jasper…." She raised her eyebrows.

"NO! Oh God no!" She went back to her previous position and laughed. I blushed. "No, no that wasn't at all what I was going to say. No, it's- it's not about me." She laughed harder.

"Well, what is it then?" I took a few seconds to calm myself and add to the suspense. I stood up and knelt besides her. Her other earphone fell out during her quick turn around to me. I had her complete attention.

"I'm just going to come out and say it." She nodded, urging me on. "Isabella is Edward's Cinderella."

"What?" Rosalie said, her eyes widening while also sounding as though she hadn't heard me.

"Yep. It's her. Isabella. It's been her this whole time. _She's_ Cinderella!"

"Whoa." Rosalie sounded blown away. "How do you know?"

"Her and her friend John, or whatever his name is, were talking about it that day she painted mine and mom's room. They were in the basement."

"And you overheard them?"

"Yep. But there's more."

"What?" She anxiously asked.

"She's in love with Edward." Rosalie grinned wickedly. She is loving the news more than I am.

"How tragic." She remarked sarcastically.

"I know."

"And poor Edward has no idea."

"We should change that."

Her eyes lit up.

"We must. But how?"

"Rosalie, I'm way ahead of you." And I began telling her my plan to expose Isabella's secret and humiliate her into the next galaxy. Hopefully, she'll land on a planet where she isn't stupid enough to think that she can ever get anything past Alice Brandon and Rosalie Hale.

**Damn! What has Alice got up her short sleeves? Lucky for you, you'll find out next chapter!**

**What a sweet conversation between Emily and Bella. I really enjoyed writing that.**

**Also, guys, prior to this chapter, I have 88 reviews. I want my 100****th****! Pleeeeeeeeease! It's only twelve more….**


	17. Cruel Little Creatures

**Well, here we go. Hope you enjoy.**

"Isabella, could you come in here for a moment?" Esme poked her brunette head out of her den.

"Sure." I felt worried. Did I get in trouble for something?

By the time I made it inside, Esme stood on the other side of the room, half a foot away from her chair.

"Sit down." She ordered calmly. I did and so did she. We sat facing each other. I remained quiet and waited for anything she might say or do next. She looked around the room as if waiting very impatiently for someone or something. Then she finally spoke.

"So as you very well know, Isabella, our New Years party is coming up. All your schoolmates are going to be invited and the girls get excited for it every year….You know how it goes."Esme drifted off as I slowly nodded.

"But I called you in here not to give you information on an event you already know so much about. As difficult as this actually is for me, I know it's the right thing to do." Esme then made her best attempt at a smile. "What I'm trying to say is, at this party, I want you to be a guest." I felt confused and I think Esme could tell.

"But I always go."

"You're the help, Isabella. You serve the drinks, offer the food, clean the spills, but most importantly, you make me and my daughters look good." I still didn't understand what she was saying.

"Isabella," she leaned in, sounding patient. "This time around, I don't want you to be the help. I'll hire people for that. I think you should enjoy this party. It's the last one before you go off to college next year and leave me…. So I want you to enjoy it. Have fun and I sincerely hope you do." And then came her second attempt at a smile. "And to ensure you that I really am being sincere, I would like you to invite your friend, Jesse."

"Jacob."

"That's right. And his girlfriend. Ella, right?"

"Emily."

"Her then. Just bring them along. I'm sure they'll love to come. And we'll love to have them." I still looked confused, and I still didn't fully understand her reasons. So that led me to ask:

"Why are you doing this?" With a sigh, Esme got up from her chair and walked around her desk.

"I know it sounds strange, but I feel after all these years you deserve to have a little fun. Even if it's just for one night. If you don't want to, that's fine. But the offer stands."

"Okay."She looked away and then back at me.

"Alright, that's all. You can go now." I nodded and got up, still confused, and walked out the door.

* * *

The day of the party had finally arrived. As Esme had said, all the guests that were invited to this party could not have been happier that it was here. No need to even mention how Rosalie and Alice were taking the whole situation. It was their final chance to be in the spotlight, and you can bet your life that they were doing everything to make sure it goes off perfectly. Their entire morning and afternoon has been spent getting ready. I haven't seen them all day.

As skeptical as I was about Esme's generosity, I decided to go with it. After leaving her den, I walked to my room and hesitantly called Jacob, who was already with Emily. I explained the situation to both while on speakerphone. Sounding quite unsure about the whole thing myself, I could almost see the quizzical look on Jacob and Emily's faces. With the promise of watching over me the entire night, they agreed to come.

Yesterday, Esme gave me permission to go to the mall and get myself 'something I'll actually look good in'. She also gave me three hundred dollars. With the help of Emily, I bought a strapless purple dress with that landed about three inches from my knee. It's one of the few Emily and I both agreed on and fit me perfectly. Plus, it shows off the few good parts of my body, which is always a bonus.

With only a few hours left until the party begins, Emily brought over a nice surprise. When she came over, she came with what appeared to be all the Miss America contestants' hair and makeup supplies. She lifted the case and shook with her gorgeous smile on her face. I looked at it with horror.

Emily laughed and stepped into the house. She was at the front of the stairs, when she turned back to me.

"Aren't you coming?" She spoke seriously. I groaned, closed the door, and led her up the stairs.

Two hours later, I came out of my bedroom, followed by Emily, looking what she described as 'smoking hot' and what I thought to be 'different'. My hair was set to frame my face perfectly in loose, soft waves. Emily put some kind of lotion in my hair that didn't make it shine, but sparkle, which gave me a sort of halo-like glow around me. Thankfully, Emily and I agreed on very little make-up. Emily's comments about how naturally pretty I already am made me blush and the rosiness seemed to stay in my cheeks.

By the end of our session, I had to admit, I looked pretty good. As I headed downstairs, the party preparations also seemed to be going pretty good. Esme really did hire help, who looked like they were doing everything properly. Food was being set and the DJ's booth was being built, and all by at least twenty workers and all without scuffing the floor or knocking down Esme's paintings or portraits. Is it bad to say that it felt amazing not to lift a finger?

Esme was nowhere in sight and the girls certainly wouldn't be for another few hours.

"Excuse me?" I stopped a man who was carrying a sure to be heavy speaker. "Have you seen Esme?"

"She's outside, yelling and giving orders to everyone."

"Of course she is. Thank you." With that, the man continued working. After quickly mumbling, 'be right back', to Emily, I left through the open doors and walked towards the lawn. On the far end of the driveway, Esme could be clearly seen and appeared to be angry, with her arms in the air and barking orders.

"Let's go! My fiancée's grandmother can move faster than you! Do you know how old she is? She's not, she's dead! Put that in the backyard, but go around the house, not through it. If your shoes are dirty, don't you DARE step into my house! Change your shoes first." I rolled my eyes but could not help but smile at Esme's tormenting of others besides me.

"Esme?" She turned.

"Hello, Isabella." She gave my outfit a quick scan and turned back around without a word.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can help you with?" More demands were given and Esme turned her body all the way this time.

"Actually, yes." Here we go. "And this goes for you too. Could you tell the girls I'll be home around 11:30? Carlisle and I should be done with dinner and whatever else he has planned for us by then. I really want to spend the moment the New Year starts with my family and all their loved ones. So I'll be back before 12." Just then, Carlisle pulled up in his Mercedes, ready to take Esme on their final date of the year.

With an elated smile coming from Esme at the sound of the car horn, she said nothing but, "Make sure you tell them!", and proceed to run like a silly teenage girl going on a date with the most popular boy in school towards the car.

* * *

After much redirecting of where party supplies went and translating Spanish to English and vice-versa (Emily speaks Spanish, who knew?) the party was almost ready to begin. But it couldn't possibly start without the arrival of everyone's favorite party boy, Jacob Black.

I went through the familiar labor of opening the door whenever the doorbell rang and this time, Jacob appeared under the threshold. Before I can even get a chance to greet him, Emily blocks my view and swings her arms around him.

"Jakey!" Emily squealed and laid a huge kiss on him, which he obviously happily returned, leaving me to feel very uncomfortable. I mean, really? You'd think Jake went to war and hasn't seen Emily in two years. It was about another ten seconds before I decided to break them up.

"Okay, you two." I said, holding Emily's upper right arm and pulling gently. "We've got a party to get to."

"Well, who let the dogs out and led them into our house, Rosalie?" Alice's tiny voice echoed throughout the foyer. She strutted down the stairs, one hand on the banister and the other swinging lazily by her side.

"Hello Alice. You look nice." Jacob said as politely as possible. I noticed Emily shooting Alice a nasty look.

"Oh, please Jack, I look amazing. Don't I, Isabella?" Not wanting to accidently blurt out something insulting, I kept my mouth shut and nodded, although, truthfully, I wasn't lying. Alice did look amazing, as did Rosalie. Both were wearing strapless, almost skin-tight dresses. Alice was in a sparkling platinum, Rose in a fiery red. Both were in identical, shiny, black, strappy heels. Miraculously, their outfits stood somewhere between sweet and sultry. The girls stopped halfway down the stairs. Rosalie moved to Alice's right and now both girls stood facing Jacob, Emily, and I.

I was the first to speak.

"Esme told me to tell you she'll be back around 11:30. But she'll definitely be back by midnight."

"11:30?" Suddenly, all of Alice's attention was on me. I nodded. "That's perfect."As she was speaking, her eyes lit up brighter than her dress.

"Yeah, just in time for the New Year." I noticed Rosalie give a sly smile.

"Oh yes, that ball is definitely going to drop tonight." Rosalie replied.

Our five-way stare-down continued with Alice's evil smile growing so big, it could rival the Grinch's. At that point, Rosalie and Alice turned and headed back upstairs from where they would not come back down until the party really got started.

I went to unlock the front door and opened it all the way. Perfect timing too, since the first sounds of cars could be heard approaching. The DJ turned up the music, I shut off the lights and Alice and Rosalie's New Year's party got underway.

* * *

Within an hour, the party was revved up and I could barely see the floor. There must have been about one hundred and fifty people here so far. Not bad for the first hour of a Rosalie and Alice affair. I knew it would take about another fifty people for the girls to feel like they were ready to come down. So perhaps in another twenty minutes. Emmett and Jasper haven't even arrived yet. Nor has Edward.

True to their word, Jacob and Emily had my back all night. The three of us danced together, ate and drank together, and went outside to get some fresh air together. It was a little bit annoying to be honest. But at least this way I had the certainty that they wouldn't run off and spend the entire night making out like they did at the last party the three of us were at.

When I finally saw the familiar shape of Emmett's body enter the house, I knew the girls would be down any second. Sure enough, about a minute later, they were both descending, somehow looking more stunning than when I saw them earlier. Sounds of cheers, applause, and even some wolf-whistles went their way. The two met their boyfriends at the bottom of the stairs and went off their own separate ways. Meanwhile, the single Cullen brother stood to the side and appeared to be looking for someone. Could it be me? _Oh, shut up Bella. Of course it's not._ But when his eyes landed on me, Jacob, and Emily, he smiled, gave a quick wave, and headed towards us.

"Hey." He almost shouted over the music. He bumped fists with Jacob and hugged Emily and I. "You look beautiful." He said to me in an incredibly honest tone. He didn't say anything to Emily.

_Stop blushing, stop blushing, stop blushing!_

"Thanks." Even in the technicolor light that illuminated only parts of his face, I couldn't believe how beautiful he looked. It was like being at his party all over again.

"So what are you two, her bodyguards for the night?" Edward laughed upon noticing them on either side of me.

"Actually, yes." Emily laughed along.

"Well, you two are off duty now. I'll watch Bella from now on." He took my hand in his. Emily gave me a quick glance which I'm sure went unnoticed by Edward.

"Edward, I think that's up for Bella to decide-." Before Jacob could finish his sentence, Emily pulled him towards her and began whispering in his ear. Although I couldn't hear what she was saying, I could tell it was something intimate that was to be kept between Emily and Jacob only. And, of course, the dopey grin on Jacob's face and smirk on Emily's when she pulled away were dead giveaways.

"Happy New Year, Bella!" He exclaimed as he hastily kissed my cheek. I instantly burst out laughing. He quickly hugged Edward and went to pull Emily away. With a last glance back, she gave me a fast wink and followed after Jacob.

Calming down, I asked, "What did she say to him?"

"I don't know, but to be honest, I don't think I want to find out." Edward replied, starting to laugh as well.

For the next couple of hours, time seemed to fly by. I wasn't even sure if we were in the next year or not. But it felt like that probably because I spent the majority of the night with Edward.

I don't know how it's possible but during that time, it really did feel like being at his party again. Only this time, he knows who I am. We danced to some songs, including a couple of slow ones, but spent most of the time munching on the food and making fun at some of the outrageous outfits some of our peers were wearing.

After getting tired of the stuffy and crowded environment, we decided to head outside for some fresh air. We were desperate for seats and have been leaning against walls for about three hours. I led him to one of my favorite places in my backyard. It's also one of the most romantic places I know, even if I've personally never had any use for it. It's a small stone bench made for two with no back and bushes on either side. Behind it is a simple fountain with an endless amount of running water. While it was simple and classy, I thought it to be peaceful and totally breathtaking.

It was here that Edward and I spoke about more personal topics, such as our families and post high school plans. We revealed that neither of us had heard back from Dartmouth but were supposed to by next month. I confessed to Edward about Esme's unusual kindness in letting me attend the party as opposed to working it.

"Maybe she's trying to turn over a new leaf."

"Maybe. It's weird though. You know, she even gave me money for this dress."

"Well, you look amazing so her odd behavior seems to have paid off." He smiled. I turned my head and hid my blush as best I could.

"Thanks." And then I don't know what happened. It's like my courage went from Smurf to human size. Because once I uttered the following sentence, I didn't regret it one bit.

"So how's the search for your mystery girl going?"

Before he could take a breath to answer me, Bryan Adams's 'Everything I Do, I Do it For You' came on. My eyes lit up, my mouth dropped open slightly, and I looked towards the music.

"I love this song."

"Do you want to dance?" I nodded, not feeling embarrassed at all this time. He took my hand and led me to the dance floor. I couldn't focus on anything but Edward. It was just me and him in this one moment. And Bryan, of course.

"It's going horribly-."

"Shh. Don't speak."

I stared into his eyes. I was reciting the lyrics in my head and thinking about how, in this case, true they were. It's complete irony that this song should come up when it did. But it's true. It is. It always has been. I am in love with Edward Cullen.

And I have to tell him.

I have to because there's no point in keeping it from him anymore. Why bother? He and I already know so much about each other and spend so much time together, it's practically impossible not to trust each other. Or even to have an understanding of one another. Yes, this whole Cinderella thing is considered to be a major violation of any kind of trust between us. But once I tell him he should understand.

And if not, that's okay. Because, to be honest, I think he's in love with me too. That would explain a lot of things. Why he commented on how I looked but not Emily. Why he's willing to spend am entire night at a party with me but not our other two friends. Why he's so patient with me whenever I complain about Esme, Alice, and Rosalie. Why he defended me from Jacob that time in the movie theater so long ago.

But the most important reason why I believe he's in love with me is because of how much he trusts me. Everything he told me about his past, about his mother, you don't discuss that kind of topic with just anybody. Only with someone you confide in deeply. Like me. And if he trusts me with something like that, then surely he'll understand and trust my motives when I explain when I explain why I kept the secret a secret.

As the last few notes of the song played out, I realized what I had to do. The only difference being, I wasn't going to chicken out this time.

"Hello, everybody!" That voice was not coming from inside my head. It came from the stairs, and the reason I heard it so clearly was because Alice's voice was being projected by a microphone. Against my will, I turned to see Alice and Rosalie standing in the middle of the flight of stairs, a few steps lower than where they stood for our confrontation with Jacob and Emily. The looks on their faces resembled like they had just rigged the results of the prom queen election and knew they were going to win.

In their desire to catch every word that's going to come out of Alice or Rosalie's mouths, people began pushing me and Edward, eventually leaving us near the middle of the dance floor. More shoving caused us to separate, and in seconds, despite his height, I was unable to spot him in the crowd.

"Alright, alright everybody. Settle down. I'm sure you all have a great view." Rosalie announced to her guests, holding a microphone of her own.

"Okay, so with less than half an hour until the New Year, Rosalie and I thought it would be nice of us to say a few words and give a few thanks." The guests cheered and clapped, urging them on.

Rosalie began, "So thank you guys so much for coming." They cried with joy. "You all have really helped make this night very, very special for me and my sister and we really appreciate that." Applause. "And even though we've never spoken to a good seventy-five percent of you, believe me, we do know you exist." Both girls laughed and so did the twenty-five percent of people the girls have actually have conversations with. The rest gave more cheers. Once it died down, Alice continued.

"We'd like to thank our DJ who's been just awesome with the music he provided!" Everything after 'awesome' was drowned out by the roars from the crowd. Once those got quiet, Rosalie spoke again.

"Thanks to our mother for paying for this whole damn thing!" It got loud once again. Alice and Rosalie the looked at each other with small smirks and quickly turned back to the crowd. Alice piped up.

"But most of all,"

"We'd like to thank," Rosalie followed.

"Our lovely sister, Bella!" Both spoke in unison.

That marked the very first time the girls have called me Bella. Ever. As if I were the white dot in the black square, everyone turned to look at me. Luckily, Jacob and Emily managed to get through the mass of people to reach me. As they stood besides me, I did notice them, but kept my gaze on the girls.

"What can we say about Bella? She's…everything to us. That is to say, she does everything for us." Once she kept talking, everyone's attention returned to Alice. Rosalie nodded besides her.

"Yes." Rosalie began. "We don't know what we would do without Bella. She wakes us up, cooks for us, and cleans for us. Laundry, car washes, you name it, Bella does it." Murmurs began amongst the crowd, but I didn't have to be one of them to be confused. Why was Rosalie saying all this? "But she's not our slave or anything like that."

"No." Alice chimed in. "We do pay her." Louder murmurs began and this was enough to make me break my stare and look around at everyone. Nobody was looking at me, even though I was the topic of conversation. I felt Emily's hand on my arm.

"Her education, that is." Rosalie explained. Understanding washed over the group.

"We all know Summit High is a public school, but public school or not, the girl needs to get some sort of education after high school. And Bella, who's actually our stepsister, is not financially able to do that."

"So we've been helping for out. We pay for her college, in exchange for her doing some major housekeeping. Seems pretty fair, right?" Rosalie asked. There were sounds of agreement and various nods from what I could see. I shook my head. They're lying! That's my own money they're paying me with! None of it belongs to them. "Well, to Bella, it's not."

"Bella thought she would break the rules and run off and do her own thing."

"What are the rules, you ask? Simple. Do what you're told, and nothing else."

"And Bella did the exact opposite." This piece of information caused everyone to stir. With the movement, I managed to find Edward. "So let's say Bella wanted to go to this party that was in, oh, I don't know, June."

I gasped and Jacob froze besides me.

"Without our mother's permission, or knowledge even, she can't go. But she did." At this they both looked at me. It was the first time they acknowledged me since they started speaking. "And the funny thing is, so did most of you here."

"We all remember Edward Cullen's eighteenth birthday party, right?"

"No…." I groaned. Jacob took my hand in his and squeezed it. I don't believe it. How did they possibly find out?

"How could we not?" Alice continued. "That was one hell of a party. But what made it unusual was that the person we were celebrating was nowhere to be seen. He was apparently with this girl who nobody saw, nobody knows her name, and nobody knows anything about."

"And because she had to leave so suddenly and didn't give out any information about herself, Edward spent weeks, months even, looking for her. Poor Edward had nothing to help him out. All he could hope for is that she would turn herself in."

"And many have, though not the right one. You see, Edward knows his girl when he sees her, don't you Edward?" Everyone looked at Edward, who didn't move a muscle. Without waiting for a response, Alice kept going. "But it turns out, he doesn't."

"But we know who she is, and so do all of you." Rosalie's pale arm gestured to everyone in the room. Emily, who sensed what was coming as much as Jacob and I did, clutched me tightly in a one-armed, non-returned hug. "If you've been paying attention and connecting the dots, you've surely figured it out by now."

"For those of you who haven't, we'll bring you into the loop." _Please don't Alice. Please don't say it out loud._ "Edward's mystery girl is none other than our very own stepsister, Isabella Marie Swan."

It was the feeling of skydiving without a parachute. Of drowning. Of being trapped in a room with no windows or doors. All these emotions came together as one the second Alice finished her declaration. The crowd was louder than ever before and was filled with hundreds of voices, some of confusion and some of disbelief. I refused to look at anyone or anything but the floor below me, wishing that it would open up and swallow me whole. Emily and Jacob's grips on me tightened and I felt a tug coming from Jacob.

"It's funny how it all works out, isn't it?" Rosalie spoke. "You've all seen her in the hallway, in the lunchroom, maybe even around town. But now you know the truth. You know that Isabella is a rebellious, ungrateful, liar. A thief too. Because guess how she looked so good that night. Her dress came from a place called my bedroom and so did her hair and make up supplies." A shock of surprise went through everybody, but the deadliest went to me. How could she have known that? "I'm sure you all know about the new friendship between Edward and Isabella. Isn't it just horrible that she's been lying to him all along? Friends tell each other everything, don't they? There should be a sense of….trust among the two." I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding, which seemed to draw some attention. I looked around only to find Edward pushing past the mass of people and storming as quickly as possible out of the room.

I raced after him.

Jacob and Emily ran after me. It wasn't until I was completely out of the building that I started calling out his name.

"Edward!" I screamed. "Edward, please! Come back! I'll- I'll explain everything!" Once I realized that he was gone, I allowed the tears to rush down. I stumbled to the bench where Edward and I had sat not twenty minutes ago and sat down. Emily and Jacob came out slightly out of breath and found me. They sat on either side of me. Jacob took my hand and Emily hugged me tightly.

"Bella," she began, "It's okay-."

"No, it's not okay! I was going to tell him. Right after the song was over! I swear, Jake, I swear I was going to tell him!" I feared I couldn't be understood by how much I was crying.

"Shh. I know, I believe you." He placed my head on his shoulder and held it there, allowing me to cry all I wanted. "It was the song, wasn't it?"

"Yea- Yeah. It- it made me realize…. I was going to tell him! Those stupid little…. I could kill them!"

"Hurting them isn't going to do anything, Bella." Emily put in. "I know the pain you're feeling must be unbearable, but it's okay. We'll get through it, alright?" She stroked my hair. I stayed quiet, unable to do anything but cry. Yells from inside announced that the New Year had arrived. What I way I was spending my first minutes of it.

Jacob and Emily looked at each other, as if thinking of something they could do to comfort me. As if it was a unanimous decision, they held each other's hands and held me tightly in between them.

…**Poor Bella! Please, please, PLEASE review!**


	18. Isabella Interview

**Prepare yourselves for a very long rant. But do read it or else you'll have no idea what's going on. **

**Okay, so first off, thanks so much for all the feedback on the long awaited chapter. And for those that didn't leave a feedback, I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Writing the last chapter was…fun yet very heartbreaking. But now that we're moving on to the next chapter, there are a couple of things I should explain…. This chapter will not be told from Bella's perspective at all. We will reunite with her in the next chapter. This one will be told through the eyes of the school snoop, Eric Yorkie and his camerawoman, Angela Weber. Basically, they're going to be going around to all the characters getting their opinions and reactions to the discovery of the Cinderella Secret. It includes the major characters as well as some we haven't seen or heard from in a while. Well, I hope you don't get too confused of the format, and if you do there's another one of my horribly written Edward's POV at the end for your reading pleasure. Hope you enjoy.**

"Angela, Angela? Is this thing on?"

"Yes, it's on! Start talking." My camerawoman spoke impatiently.

"Oh, okay." I turned on my professional voice. "Hello students of Summit High! Eric Yorkie here. So unless you've been living under a rock for the past few days, you know all about the latest scandal that's been shaking up our school." Angela gave me thumbs up, signaling me to keep going. "Basically, Edward Cullen, our school's hottest bachelor, fell in love with a mysterious woman at his eighteenth birthday party and has been searching for her for months. During that time, he befriended the socially awkward Isabella Swan. It wasn't until Rosalie Hale and Alice Brandon's, Isabella's very own stepsisters, New Year's Party that it was revealed that Isabella was in fact Edward's girl all along! And she lied to him to keep it a secret the whole time. So what's the result? Probably the craziest (not to mention, the most over-used) love story we've ever heard of." On cue, I began to walk backwards and Angela followed.

"So today, we'll be talking to the characters of the story and perhaps some unsuspecting extras to get their thoughts, opinions, and maybe a more exclusive look at the love that was a lie." I looked around. "Oh look! Our first guest!" I ran over to a honey-colored head. "Jasper Cullen, hello! How are you doing?" Jasper looked at me and the camera with wide eyes.

"Um. Hello."

"So Jasper, not only are you the long time boyfriend of the pint-sized princess Alice Brandon, you're also Edward Cullen's brother, am I right?"

"What are you doing and why are you talking like an over-enthusiastic bad talk show host?"

I ignored him.

"So how do you feel about the girl who is responsible for your brother's broken heart? And, tell us, what was going through your head when your girlfriend revealed the news to the world?"

"It wasn't the whole world. It was only a couple hundred people. As for the issue with Isabella, I really don't think that should be up for public discussion. It's a private matter."

"Well, tell us, how's Edward holding up?"

"He's quiet upset, but I really shouldn't say anymore." He picked up his backpack. "I have to go." He walked away.

"Wait! Jasper, hold on!" He couldn't hear me anymore. "Alright, Angela. Just…cut."

* * *

"So here we are with none other than the lovely and beautiful Alice Brandon and Rosalie Hale."

"Aww. Thank you Ethan!" Alice replied, giving me a playful shove.

"It's Eric. So girls, what led you to reveal your stepsister's big secret at your New Year's party?"

"We were just trying to be good sisters." Alice began while Rosalie nodded besides her. "It's clearly obvious that Isabella was…uncomfortable talking to Edward, o anybody really, about that. So we decided we'd help her out by giving her a little shove in the right direction."

"Only it turned out to be a full on push." Rosalie added.

"Right." Alice continued. "It's quite sad really. She lost her parents when she was so young and she's never really been close to either of us or our mother so she's literally got no one in the world."

"She was friends with Edward but after hearing that piece of information, I doubt he's going to want to keep that friendship going." Rosalie spoke.

"Well, Isabella's still got Jacob Black and Emily Young, who've been dating for almost six months." Both girls spoke simultaneously.

"Who?"

* * *

"There's Emmett Cullen!" We ran to catch him. "Emmett, how's it going?"

"Oh, hey. What's all this?"

"We're doing a series of interviews-."

"Is this going to be on TV?" Emmett lit up.

"Well, no. It's going on the school web site."

"Good enough. So what's up?"

"We were wondering if you could give us your thoughts on the scandal that occurred at your girlfriend's party over the holiday break."

"What about it?"

"What do you think about it? How do you feel?"

"Oh, well it was shocking. You know, Isabella's a great girl, but I don't think anyone was expecting her to be Edward's girl, let alone think she was lying about it. It was a hell of a way to start off the New Year."

"It certainly was. During your brother's friendship with her, did you ever become close to Isabella?"

"No, not really. When we were younger, my brothers and I would try to get her to hang out with us and she would always make excuses not to come. I guess now we know why. When she became friends with Edward, I thought it was pretty cool, but now that we all know the truth…." He shrugged.

"And how's Edward taking all this?"

"Aww, man, Edward's-."

"Emmett!" Jasper turned the corner and noticed us interrogating Emmett.

"Crap."

"What are you doing?" Jasper questioned.

"Oh, hey Jazz. These guys were just-."

"Emmett, don't give out personal information to…strangers." Jasper grabbed his upper arm and pulled. "Let's go."

"Jasper…." Emmett groaned but followed his brother away. I turned to the camera and shrugged. Then something caught my eye.

"Jacob! Emily! Wait up!" Angela and I ran towards the couple, knowing their words would probably by the most valuable. However upon seeing me, the two all but sprinted in the opposite direction and through the door at the end of the hall.

* * *

"Leah Clearwater everybody!"

"Yorkie, what could you possibly want?" I tried to explain. "You claim it's something important but I can't think of anything that's important to you that could be of any importance to me as well."

"It's about Edward Cullen." Leah immediately straightened up.

"I'm listening."

"You were present at Alice and Rosalie's New Year's party right?"

"Oh, THAT'S what you want to talk about. Well yes, I was there as were Tanya and our new friend Kate!" I motioned for Angela to widen the shot so that all three girls were in it. "We had front row seats actually. We could hear every word they spoke."

"So what do you think?"

"Well, while I do think Edward has lowered his standards of people he befriends, I think it's cute. It's a love that's never going to happen. Isabella was just being her busy bee self and happened to fall in love with a guy who didn't even know she existed until she put on a nice dress and pretty makeup. It's cute. Very fairy-tale like."

"What makes you think Isabella was in love with Edward?"

"Obviously she was by the way she ran after him that night." She grinned.

"Do you think he returned the feelings?"

"Oh, absolutely not. I still don't fully believe that he even became her friend in the first place. He probably felt sorry for her."

"What do you think about the fact that both Edward and Isabella are NOT present in school today?" Leah's smile vanished.

"Edward's not in school? And neither is she?" Angela nodded, causing the camera to mimic her. "And…well…what- what are you trying to say?"

"I don't know. What do you think?"

Flabbergasted, Leah continued to be unable to form a sentence. Suddenly, without another word, she pushed me square in the chest causing me to lose balance and almost knock Angela over.

Leah stormed away, taking her posse with her.

"Wait! Do Tanya or Kate have anything to say?"

* * *

"Seth Olsen, there you are! We've been looking everywhere for you!" I lied.

"Look, if you're here to ask me about Bella, don't bother. I wasn't invited to the party so I don't know-."

"Okay then, how do you feel that the girl you fell head over heels for is in love with somebody else?"

"It sucks, but-."

"You must be so hurt, but not nearly as much as Isabella. How confused are you? Don't you wish you knew what was going on?"

"Would you back off? I don't know anything but I don't want to know anything. It's Bella and Edward's lives. It's their business. So stay out of it!" He fumed and walked away. Then as fate would have it, Jacob and Emily walked through the threshold holding hands. The instant Jacob saw me, he yanked Emily's arm and pulled her to his right. The crowd of people that had formed made it almost impossible for us to even attempt to reach them.

* * *

"So Alice, Rosalie, can you give us a status update on Isabella?"

"Oh, she's at home." Alice responded.

"She's suffering from an illness." Rosalie explained.

"Called heartbreak." Alice smiled innocently.

"It's a horrible, terrible disease."

"Not that we would know what it feels like."

"But apparently it can really crush a person's spirits and make them really, really depressed."

"That would explain why Isabella's done nothing but lie in bed and cry all day long."

Both girls shrugged.

* * *

"Come on guys, just a couple of words. Just let out how you feel." It was almost time to leave school and I had managed to interview everyone I wanted to, with the exception of Jacob and Emily. Lucky for me, Angela and I cornered them -literally- in the hallway. "Or don't tell us how you feel. Talk to us about Isabella. You guys are her friends. What's the scoop? Tell us all the dirty det-." Emily whipped around, catching me by surprise.

"Alright Yorkie, you want the scoop? Here it is. Bella's a sweet girl who happened to have her heart broken over the holiday break. But you already knew that, didn't you? That's old news, is it not? How's this for the latest news? Nobody should give a shit about what goes on in Bella's personal life, and it really pisses me off that you do. You go around interviewing people, trying to get their thoughts on this matter. Who the hell do you think you are, the women on 'The View'? You're just a sad, pathetic excuse for a journalist that wants to grow up to be the next Perez Hilton. So fuck off Yorkie, because you're annoying the hell out of everyone. And as for this Cinderella Story Exclusive, ask whoever and believe whatever you want even though it's not the truth. All I ask is that you keep me, my boyfriend, my best friend, and Edward out of it. And don't you dare think of posting this thing on any website or anywhere that anyone could ever see it. If you do, so help me God, I will hunt you down and really give you something to film. Now, bye!"

**Edward's POV**

Thursday was the worst night of my life. All those months of searching, of racking my brain for any clue, it all turned out to be worth total bullshit. She was right in front of me the whole time. Walking down the hall, laughing at stupid jokes. It was Isabella friggin' Swan the entire time. Why the hell didn't she tell me? Did she seriously think I would get mad? Well, learning it the way I did was worse! She's been lying to me all along. I can't fucking believe it. Just when I thought I was letting go of Cinderella, Alice and Rosalie drop this goddamn bomb on me. I've never felt so betrayed in my life. And Jacob and Emily, they knew! They knew all along! I swear to God….

Bella. Sweet, beautiful Bella. I guess there's no point denying it any longer. I had fallen for Bella. And I fell hard. I have been for a while now. New Year's would have been the perfect time to tell her and even though I hadn't planned on it, I might have just done right then and there. Right in the middle of dancing to that damn song. And then what? What would have happened? That wouldn't have stopped Alice and Rosalie from revealing the truth. So I'd be even more pissed. But I suppose part of the reason why I'm so pissed is because I'm in love with Bella. If I wasn't, I probably wouldn't give a shit.

I'm going to have to leave my room at some point. I've got to get back on my feet, get on with my life. And if that meant a Bella-free life, then fine. It'll be hard, but not impossible. We graduate in six months. I can suck it up and not think about her or see her or have anything to do with her until then. And then, thanks to Dartmouth, I'll be thousands of miles away and hopefully never come back.

Wait?

Didn't Bella also apply to Dartmouth?

Fuck.

**Well, review please. Hopefully, things will get better in the next chapter…. =)**


	19. Deadly Disasters

**Two chapters in one week? You lucky, little readers! I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter and that you like this one just as much, if not more. **

I've been lying on my bed in this position for a couple of hours now. I'm lying flat on my stomach staring at the loosely held encyclopedia set I never use sitting on the top shelf of my bookshelf. I glared at the spines, not really knowing which letter my eyes landed on. I don't know what I was expecting to happen. Maybe that one of them would jump off and land on the bed, opened to the page that would contain some kind of cure to how I was feeling. But most likely, there was no cure for how to deal with depression, anger, and heartbreak all at once.

I haven't been to school all week. It was now Friday after noon, a mere eight days since the party. Esme, Alice, and Rosalie haven't asked me of anything and let me be. I haven't seen them all week. I wondered how they were getting anything done and going on their daily now, I was waiting for the e-mail from Jacob contain my class and homework for the day and since it was Friday, the weekend. He's a saint, that boy. He's been doing this all week and anytime I've been sick ever since we met. And even though I've been having a major urge to ask about Edward, I haven't. That's what Emily was for.

Despite not wanting to know about Edward at first, Emily started calling and texting me information anyway. Even though it wasn't a lot, I clung on to the hope that it could possibly mean that he wasn't as mad as I thought he was.

She told me he wasn't in school on Monday but returned on Tuesday and that he looked, for lack of a better word, 'normal'. He'd interact with his bothers and other students, but although he seemed fine, you could tell something was different about him. She said how when he would be with Emmett or Jasper and Rosalie or Alice showed up, he'd make an excuse to leave and do so without saying anything to the girls. This made me happy, knowing that he was at least the tiniest bit angry with them.

But the thing that hurt me more than anything she told me was that throughout the whole week, Edward didn't speak a word to her or Jacob. She smiled at him as he entered the history class they shared and he acted as if he didn't even see her. I felt horrible because he had no reason to be mad at them. All his anger should be directed at me and I'm fully aware of that.

Also, apparently Eric Yorkie was doing some sort of, I don't know, documentary on this whole situation. When Emily told me, you'd think I'd be pissed. But I actually found it pretty funny how now that I'm the school liar, everybody thinks I'm suddenly all interesting and feels the need to talk about me. Whereas when I was nobody, no one would give me the time of day. Nice way to get some attention. Unfortunately, I'd never get to see this film seeing as Emily threatened him.

"But don't worry." She told me. "I pretty much promised him the inability to walk across the stage at graduation if he posted that thing anywhere." I was grateful anyway. I wouldn't want the whole world knowing about this.

Sometime last weekend, I realized something. The reason for Esme's kindness became evident. Clearly, she was in on the whole ruin-Isabella's-life plan with Rosalie and Alice. It's obvious what their angle was. Embarrassing a lowly servant isn't nearly as fun as embarrassing a guest who'd never been treated as such and was ecstatic about being invited to the party. I don't even recall Esme returning home that night to be with her 'family'. Screw her. Screw Rosalie and Alice! They can all rot in hell.

At least one good thing came out of all this. Just when I thought I'd never feel the sensation of happiness again, I received my acceptance letter from Dartmouth. I couldn't believe it. I didn't think I'd actually get in. Not that I mean to brag, but getting into NYU, Georgetown, and John Hopkins didn't feel too bad either. Jacob and Emily flipped when I told them.

Before I said yes though, I wanted to make sure I was financially able. Financial aid and loans were great and all, but I wanted to see how I was doing as of now. Jake promised to take me to the bank and check it out tomorrow. Emily felt bad for not being able to accompany us due to a trip she had planned to go and visit her sisters.

The computer beeped and I was alerted of my new message. Jake's e-mail contained the assignments for the day along with a personal message saying he'd pick me up tomorrow at one and that he couldn't wait to see me again. I replied with; "Thanks, you too!" and a smiley face.

After rereading the message, I grabbed my books, made myself comfortable and got to work.

* * *

One of the many great things about being free of Esme's hold was being able to sleep in, a luxury I haven't had since I was a little girl. Things could get a little boring since I didn't have anything, besides homework, to occupy my time. But today I had an errand to run. An errand that, based on its outcome, could potentially change my life.

One o'clock was quickly approaching and I was preparing for my first public appearance since the horrible night of the party. Don't think I acted like some freak who kept herself locked up in her bedroom for the entire week. Fresh air, food and drink, and bathroom breaks occurred when the girls were off at school, Esme off knowing God knows what, and under the cover of nightfall. When they were out, I liked to do some housekeeping. While I may hate its occupants, it's still my house too. One thing I refused to do, however, was go in the backyard. I knew memories of that night would flood back if I dared go there under my current emotional state. And I certainly didn't need to be reminded of my crying like a baby in my best friends' arms either.

My thoughts were interrupted by my phone ringing. I smiled at Jacob's text, stating that he was outside. Putting my phone in my pocket, I walked out the room and down the stairs. I was heading out, not caring if Esme, Rosalie, or Alice saw me. Jacob was waiting outside, and I craved to be out there as well.

As I opened the front door, I was taken aback when I saw Carlisle standing before me.

"Oh! Hi, umm, Mr. Cullen." This is the first time I've gotten a good look at him since Thanksgiving. It's also the first time I've ever been alone with him.

He chuckled.

"Isabella, I'm going to be your stepfather in a matter of months. Call me Carlisle." I smiled weakly.

"Okay. Carlisle. Can I help you with anything?"

"Yes. Do you know if Esme's here? She's not picking up her cell phone. I'm worried."

Oh. This has to do with Esme.

"She's probably here somewhere. Upstairs maybe. You can go on up if you like."

"I'll do that, Thank you." He shot me a smile. I gave him the best one I could.

"No problem. I'll see you around, I suppose." He nodded as I turned away. Before I could close the door, though, I heard Carlisle call my name.

"Isabella?" I faced him. "I just wanted to apologize for everything. Especially, for what happened on New Year's. And as for my son, I apologize deeply. If it's any consolation, he feels horrible too." I didn't know what I should do. Or if I should nod, smile, or what.

"Okay." I blinked and grabbed the door, preparing to close it. Without another exchange of words, I shut the door behind me. I ran into Jacob's car where I found him giving me a curious look.

"What was that all about?" He clearly noticed my encounter with Carlisle.

"Well, hello to you too."

He gave me his big smile.

"Sorry. Hi Bella." He reached to give me a hug and when we pulled out, he rubbed my arm. "You okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah, getting better every day. I'll be fine." He started the car. "He was looking for Esme." As he was backing up, I nodded towards the house, signaling that I was talking about Carlisle. "Then he stopped to talk to me about Edward."

"Oh?"

"Well, first he apologized. Then he apologized on Edward's behalf. He said that he felt horrible too…." I trailed off.

"It's okay, Bells. You don't have to talk about him." I nodded and looked out the window. A few minutes of silence passed before I decided to break it.

"So did Emily really tell Yorkie off?"

"Yes!" Jacob exclaimed. "It was friggin' hot! You should have been there, Bella. It was awesome!" I laughed, something I hadn't done n a while.

"If I had been there, there would have been no need for her to do that. I would have kicked his ass the instant I found out what he was doing." Jake laughed too.

"You would have."

"So is it true? Edward's really not speaking to you or Emily?" He shifted uncomfortably.

"Yeah. He's seen us and stuff but he doesn't communicate."

I shook my head. "I'm sorry Jake."

"No, Bella it's not your fault-."

"Yes, it is! I should have listened to you. If I had just told him from the beginning, none of this would have happened." He stayed quiet, knowing I was right.

The remaining five minutes of the car ride were done in silence. We pulled into the parking lot and exited the car. I tried to look happy and wipe the sadness off as we entered the building. Seeing that all the bankers that were seated at a desk were already attending others, Jake and I took a seat on the brown couches to the right of the entrance. Jacob reached for the bowl full of lollipops and offered me one. I giggled and shook my head. He shrugged and placed two in his jacket pocket.

"I'll see you now." A voice called my attention. I looked up to see a young looking, average height, blonde woman looking at us and smiling. Jacob and I stood up as she turned and walked towards her cubicle. When we reached it, she sat behind her desk and gestured for me and Jacob to take seats in front of it. I noticed her nameplate read 'Jane Volturi'. Once we were all settled, she began. "So how can I help you this afternoon?"

"Okay, umm, well, I recently got accepted into Dartmouth College." Ms. Volturi raised her eyebrows, clearly impressed.

"Congratulations! That's quiet an achievement." Jake and I smiled.

"Thanks you. I was in shock. I still can't fully believe it." She lit up in response. "But before I could reply to them, I just wanted to check how my account was doing. My stepmother has been saving up since I was younger and I just wanted to see if everything was okay."

"Okay." She nodded and turned to her computer. I assume you're at least eighteen?" I nodded and she pulled out her keyboard. "What's your name?"

"Isabella Swan." Her rapid typing and clicks of her mouse only took a few seconds, followed by her reading the screen with a slight frown.

"That's odd." She mumbled. After a few more clicks she read again and ended up with the same facial expression. Her high ponytail swung as she turned to look at me. "You said your mother has been depositing money for you?"

"My _step_mother, and yes. Maybe it's under her name. Esme Swan.' I told her. She nodded and turned to enter the new name into the machine.

"Sorry, no results found." She read from the screen.

", Volturi?" Jacob spoke, unable to pronounce her name. She held up her hand.

"Jane."

"Jane. Bella has to have some sort of account on here. Her stepmother's been depositing money into it since Bella was nine or ten." I nodded frantically, praying that what Jane was saying was all some big technical error.

"I'm sorry, but there seems to be no record of Esme ever having deposited anything. There's nothing."

"Is there even an account for Bella?" Jacob asked for me while my speechless self remained silent.

"Not really. Esme has her own account, but there's nothing here that shows a secondary."

"There has to be some mistake!" I blurted out. "There should be hundreds of thousands of dollars in there and all of it should belong to me!"

"I understand, but I'm sorry." She apologized sincerely. "There's nothing I can do." She shook her head as she spoke.

"Bella." Jacob whispered just loud enough for me to hear. We turned towards each other and as I looked into his eyes, he confirmed what I was already thinking.

"I cannot BELIEVE this!" I hit the arm of my chair and ran a finger through my hair. "Thank you, thank you." I directed at Jane as I stood up and stormed out of the building, Jake following not far behind.

Once we were out, Jacob grabbed my arm. I yanked it away. "I swear to God, Jacob, don't you dare touch me or I'll punch you in the face. THAT'S how fucking pissed I am!"

"Bella, you have to calm down."

"Calm down? Are you aware of what Esme has done to me? I have nothing. Nothing! Forget Dartmouth, I don't have money for anything! Don't you see? Esme's had this planned all along. She was never going to send me away to college. At all. Her plan for my life was for me to be her slave for the rest of her life. No, no. For the rest of precious Alice and Rosalie's lives! I was never going to get out of there. Ever. She's done it. She's managed to take away my entire life." I raged towards the car.

"Bella, I-."

"You know what I'm going to do now?" I sat on the passenger seat, waiting for Jacob. When he got in the car, I continued. "I'm going to go and give her a piece of my mind. I'm going to tell her that she cannot pull this bullshit with me any longer. She has to give me what's rightfully mine and do a hell of a lot of explaining and apologizing if she doesn't want to end up behind bars. Because if she doesn't, I swear I'm going to do whatever I possibly can to make sure that's where she ends up!" Jacob looked at me and I could tell he was a little bit scared of me. "Now drive Jacob, drive! I don't care how many road laws you break." He did so and while it wasn't Fast and the Furious type of driving, it was faster than what we were used to.

The time taken to arrive back to my house seemed to cut in half compared to going to the bank. Jake didn't even fully stop the car before I began opening the door. He didn't say anything though and I waited until it fully stopped before I stepped out. "Thanks." I spoke before shutting the door. I ran up to my front door with the key already pulled out and hastily unlocked it. I didn't know if Jacob was still out in the driveway or if he was gone. After what seemed like an eternity, I managed to turn the knob and open the door. My body wasn't even through the threshold when my anger was released.

"ESME!"

**Short, I know, but crucial to the outcome of the story. I apologize if the whole bank thing was completely inaccurate. Just bear with me please. Okay, so with that being said, REVIEW!**


	20. Born to Be Brave

**So a little storm named Hurricane Irene had me staying home writing this very important chapter. It was also the inspiration for how to start it off considering Bella's current state. Thanks so much for the feedback for the last chapter and I hope you enjoy this one too!**

Hurricane Isabella had entered the Swan-Brandon-Hale household because by the way I was acting through the place, you'd swear a tropical storm was going on. The howling winds were replaced by my yells and screams. The fallen trees and buildings substituted by the doors and furniture.

I searched all over the first floor and after hastily running up the stairs, I began looking though the second. Once seeing that she was not on the right side of it, I went to the left. Internally mad at myself for not checking Esme's bedroom first, the Hurricane went in there next and stopped abruptly once she spotted her target, Esme. She was sitting on the edge of the bed wearing nothing but her red silk robe that reached up to mid-thigh with her head in her hands, crying. Every time I imagined myself finally standing up to Esme, I never thought it would be under these conditions. And I especially didn't think it would happen with her looking like this. Alice and Rosalie kneeled on the bed on either side of their mother, comforting her distraught figure.

As much as I wanted to break into a smile and laugh at Esme's misery, I couldn't help but wonder what the hell was going on.

"Ah…what?" I began, not finding the proper words.

"Isabella." Rosalie faced me. Her calm expression looked like it took a lot of work. "I think it's best if you leave." Alice shot me a nasty look.

"What? Why? What happened?" Suddenly, Esme lifted her head and started yelling.

"You! You happened!" What the hell did I do now? "You let him into the house! You opened the door for him! Don't lie and say it wasn't you because these two weren't even here!"

Ahh. Okay. So she's talking about Carlisle. She went back to crying while Alice took her turn to scold me.

"That's really unfair, Isabella. So Rosalie and I ruined your life and you have to get back at us by ruining our mother's. That's low, even for you." What the crap?

Sounding hysterical this time, Esme continued. "He wouldn't have come up here and he wouldn't have seen anything…. I'd still be getting married….

Wait a second….. Esme half naked sitting on her unmade bed, make-up all over her face, unruly, messy hair, hysterically crying about Carlisle, talk of no more wedding…. Oh my God.

Carlisle walked in on Esme and another man. And ended their engagement because of it.

I still hadn't said a word and I'm not sure if I would be able to without laughing.

Rosalie, noticing that I realized what was going on, spoke up next.

"Yeah, so thanks, Isabella, for screwing up everything."

"Probably called up Carlisle herself once she realized Mommy had a guest." Alice spoke.

"Bet that was the moment she was waiting for. The day she'd finally get her revenge on everything." Rosalie went on.

"It's always the quiet ones."Alice looked at me, disgusted, and shook her head. Esme, who took her time to compose herself, spoke next.

"You know, Isabella if there was one thing I liked about you, it was your patience and tolerance. Not many people can put up with me and I'm very aware of that. And every time I think you're about to crack, you always proved me wrong. But this, what you just did today, proved and showed me something different. You showed me what it means to be a Swan. You're weak, Isabella. Instead of conversation, you act on the problem. Now that you've had enough, you think it's best to go out and get revenge, not thinking about how much it's going to hurt others. And the, you won't even take responsibility for what you did. You're weak and you're pathetic, Isabella. Just like your parents."

That did it.

"And so you're blaming _me_ for your fiancé dumping your slutty ass? You're calling _me_ pathetic? Have you looked at the past twenty years of your life, Esme? You have two daughters whose fathers you probably don't even know the names of. You seduced and married my father solely for his money and poor Carlisle was about to enter that same hell. You never stopped being with other men and it was probably in the hope that they would have even more money so you could go and run off with them. Your brainiac children? My ass. You've probably fucked enough of their teachers to form your own school. And after all that, you still have the balls to call me the pathetic one? That's you. All you're ever going to be, in fact, is a cheating, deceiving, and gold-digging tramp." She stood up now, her index finger out as if I were an uncontrollable five year-old, and walked towards me.

"Don't you dare-."

"I would go on, but there is a more important reason I came looking for you and it's not to tell your sorry ass the many things that are wrong with it."

"I am your mother-."

"You can NEVER be my mother! My mother, God bless her soul, gave up her life to let me live. That's something you could never do. And I may never have met her, but I'm positive she would have been a much better human being than you could ever be." She lifted her hand. "Go ahead, hit me. It'll just be another thing I'm going to sure you for later on." Her hand went down.

"Excuse me?"

"Not that you care, but I got into Dartmouth. I did and I was very happy when I found out about it. Only it turns out, I can't go. I went to the bank today and you'll never believe what they told me." Esme looked unfazed, and I looked behind her towards the girls who had already taken their seats on the bed, enjoying the show. As if feeling more confident were possible, I swiftly moved from under Esme's gaze and decided to make a show out of my announcement. I directed it at Rosalie and Alice but made sure Esme was listening.

"To sum it up, Esme had been stealing my money since the second my father died. You both know about the deal your mother and I made all those years ago, right?" The two girls nodded. "Well, it looks like that was only a one-sided deal. Because while Esme promised me a few thousand a month for being your personal servant, she didn't mean it. She's been stealing from me all this time, using my money to buy your clothes, your cars, everything and anything that belongs to all three of you. And while I may not have any legal documentation that say so, you know it's true, Esme. You know, I'm not really sure what you planned to do once high school was over and I told you my plans for college, but I don't really care. I think it's safe to say that you expected me to somehow go along with being your personal slave for the rest of your and your daughters, lives." There were no looks of guilt or regret on any of their faces. "And now that I think about it, I feel like you girls already knew about this." Rosalie threw her long hair over her shoulder as Alice raised one eyebrow. That gave me the answer I needed.

"Well, that's great. But rest assured, I'm going to do whatever it takes to get back what's rightfully mine. Anything that's possible will be attempted. I won't stop until honor is restored to my family name and hopefully you three are behind bars. I'll see you later. Bye." With that, I left the room with the last word. I walked down the hall towards my room, not really angry, but instead feeling like a giant weight has been lifted off my shoulders. But that didn't stop me from slamming my bedroom door once I entered.

I thought frantically about my next move. Now that I have told Esme off and promised revenge to her and her daughters, what do I do? The sooner I get this done, the better. And even if I can't get them in prison, at least I'll be thousands of miles away and never have to see them again. Then there's the whole Edward problem. Oh God. I know I have to get back to school on Monday. Taking any more time off would just prove to my school population what Esme just said about me: that I'm weak and pathetic. Hell, as if taking an entire week off didn't already prove that.

As I struggled to think of something, I involuntarily began pacing. Out of my peripheral vision, I noticed something on the floor. When I went to check it out, I noticed it was the "S" volume of the encyclopedia set. It must have been knocked down when I slammed the door. I picked it up and closed it. As I began to get up, I saw a white piece of paper folded in thirds sticking out from the other side of the book. I reached over and unfolded it. Reading the formal looking title, I knew instantly what it was and what it meant. A smile worked its way onto my face as I skimmed through the thin stack of stapled papers. I flipped to the last page and looked at the bottom, searching for the most important part of my discovery. My eyes lit up once I found it.

With this, I grabbed my phone and dialed a number that I haven't called in many years but still knew by heart. I was making a phone call to the only person I knew could help me in this situation: Jenks.

Jenks was my dad's coworker at the firm and lifelong best friend. College roommate, best man at both my dad's weddings, and whenever needed, babysitter. I stayed with him whenever my dad travelled for work prior to meeting Esme. Jenks didn't have any children, but you wouldn't think that by the way his house looked like. Toys everywhere, drawings and finger-paints all over the walls, and sometimes, sadly, a disembodied doll or two. All done by the three year old me. He was like a second father to me. In fact, he was the one I was looking out the window with as I waved goodbye to Flight 976 leaving Summit, California and heading to Dallas, Texas…. Needless to say, that was the last time I ever saw Jenks, as Esme made sure of.

Now it was him I was contacting after so many years to enlist his help.

After about fifteen seconds worth of rings, his business voice answered.

"Jenks."

"Hi. Err. It's Bella." I struggled, not really sure how to approach this after having zero contact with him for almost a decade. "Umm. Isabella Swan. Charlie's daughter?" I hope he still remembered me.

"Bella? Bella Swan? Is that really you?" I giggled, elated that he hadn't forgotten me.

"Yeah, yes it is. I'm sorry we haven't spoken in forever. I promise we'll catch up and all, but I need your help with something."

"Anything Bella. What is it?"

"I found my father's will."

* * *

Saturday was a day to remember. I'd consider it the day I died and came back to life. Figuratively speaking, of course.

My phone call to Jenks did not turn out to be a total waste. The following day, I went to the old but still very familiar building where my dad and Jenks worked. After a long discussion and talking over the terms of the will, the result is that I own everything. Specifically, the house and the money, but anything bought with the money also belongs to me. That, of course, means the cars, clothes, jewelry, and hey, Esme, Alice, and Rosalie themselves. Since I'm already eighteen, I'll have no problem getting any of it. When I asked if it was necessary to take any legal action against them, he told me that it was my decision but that they would need to be informed of what's going on. Unfortunately, I agreed and completely understood, even though I admit that it would have been hilarious to see Esme go bankrupt and have her be clueless as to why. With all this, plus Carlisle ending his and Esme's relationship, I figured it was the perfect revenge. Now, how do I deal with Alice and Rosalie…?

The discovery of my dad's will definitely gave me reason to be optimistic. Not just about my dilemma with Esme, but my situation with Edward as well.

As promised to myself, I went back to school on Monday, While I'm not really sure how I left things with Esme and the girls, I assumed it was in my favor, seeing as they continued to ignore me. The feeling was mutual.

With the exception of me sleeping in a little bit, things went as they always did on weekday mornings before the holiday break. My newfound confidence led to a decision that I knew there was no backing out of: I was going to talk to Edward. If I could stand up to Esme and insult her in every way I knew hoe, then surely I could confront a boy about how sorry I was and my feelings for him, right? It was with this state of mind that I entered the halls of Summit High School. Before I even had a chance to take a good look around, Emily appeared out of nowhere and captured me in a bone-shattering hug.

"Bella!"

"Hey, Emily!" I hugged my friend that I hadn't seen in almost two weeks. When we broke apart, she spoke again.

"How are you? How are you feeling? How's everything at home? School's been-."

"Emily, calm down. Everything's fine. I'm good. Things at home? Well, a lot has happened this weekend, that's for sure. I'll tell you both at lunch." I motioned to her and Jacob, who went to kiss his girlfriend. On the drive here, I refused to tell Jake anything that happened after the bank so that I could tell both him and Emily together. Emily had yet to learn about what Esme did to me, but out of everything that happened this weekend, I'd rank that the least exciting.

Jake and Emily held hands as we walked down the hallway towards our lockers. I held my breath knowing that if he were keeping his usual school routes, Edward should be in this hallway as well, heading to his first class. But he wasn't there. Once we reached my locker, Emily spoke.

"Looking for someone?" Emily grinned.

"Emily…." Jacob scolded.

"What? You know she is."

As I removed my final book and closed my locker, I answered her. "Yes, I am. But I'm not going to go looking for him. If I see him, I'll act on it. If not, I won't. But I definitely will. No more scaredy-cat Bella.

And even if I were being scaredy-cat Bella, there would be no need for it. Edward wasn't walking down any hallway nor did I see him in the lunchroom. According to Jacob and Emily, he's been sitting at the Cullen table, despite Alice and Rosalie's presence. So the answer was inevitable: Edward was absent from school today. It was upsetting, yes, but relieving in away. Avoiding a confrontation with Edward for another day can actually turn out to work in my advantage.

But avoiding another day is just plain annoying. Tuesday came and went as unprogressive to my relationship with Edward as Monday did.

Emil and Jacob's attempts at comforting me were becoming weaker and weaker. Every minute I spent not seeing him, the more the heartbreak returned. There was no doubt about what I was thinking. I knew Edward was avoiding me. The reason why, I knew as well. And while it hurt me that he didn't want to talk about it, it pissed me off that he didn't just man up, get over it, and confront me.

But all those feelings flew out the window when I stepped out of Jacob's car on Wednesday morning.

"Bella," Jacob said as he eyed my frozen figure. "What's wrong?"

"Jacob," I turned to him, averting my gaze from the silver Volvo. "He's here."

I kept my cool as best I could as I entered the building and greeted Emily as well as told her the good news. Emily's reaction was more enthusiastic than mine, but that was probably to be expected.

Edward hadn't appeared in the hallway where we were standing before our first class. This could only mean two things. One, he was still and probably would continue to avoid me. And two, he was going to make me go looking for him. Fine Edward, if that's the way you want to do this….

Edward may have started taking different routes around the school to his classes, but he can't change the location of his locker. So after the bell rang announcing the end of second period, he and I made our way there. Obviously, he had no idea of my plan to stop by for a visit. Once I turned the corner and passed a few lockers, I came face-to-face with Edward. The only thing separating us was his locker door. As he rummaged around his locker, not noticing me, I worked through what I was going to say.

And once he shut the locker door and saw me standing there, that too flew out the window.

"Hi, Edward." He walked away. Yeah, I was kind of anticipating that. "Edward," I began, following him, "Please, let's talk about this." He turned the corner and I trailed behind, getting angry. "Can you just grow up and talk to me? Please? I can explain."

"Can you?" He abruptly turned, startling me. "Explain what you couldn't before? Why you lied to me?" He continued walking.

"Okay, I understand why you're mad. I'm mad too."

"This has nothing to do with Alice and Rosalie!" He yelled with his back turned.

"I know it doesn't! It has to do with us!" I yelled back and noticed we had attracted an audience. He turned back around, noticing the people surrounding us too, I think. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry for everything. I know exactly why I did it, and if you just give me a chance to explain then-."

"Isabella." He interrupted. "Stop." He turned and continued walking. But he didn't get too far before I spoke again.

"You-you called me Isabella." He didn't respond or give any indication that he had heard me. He was halfway down the hall when I spoke again. "Edward!" I yelled in a similar tone that I yelled Esme's name on Saturday, just not angrily or nearly as loud.

He turned and the second he did, my eyes met his, despite the long distance. What I did next took every ounce of courage my body held, and once I had it all gathered, I knew there was no turning back.

I straightened up, walked the approximate fifteen yards to Edward, and kissed him.

Standing on my tippy-toe and using his upper arms for balance, I kept my lips on his, receiving no reaction for him. Granted, Jacob was the only other boy I've ever kissed so I had pretty much nothing to compare this kiss to. Edward's lips were soft and warm and as mine were lightly pressed against his, I wanted him to kiss me back. Come on now Edward. This is embarrassing.

When I was sure he wouldn't, I pulled away and decided to use my last resort: honesty.

"I've wanted to do that for a while now. My first kiss was with Jacob back in freshman year. I sometimes wish I were a redhead. I have a freakish birthmark on my lower back that's in the shape of a perfect rectangle. See? I do trust you. With everything. I need you to trust me. I want to tell you and explain everything. So please, let's talk."

He smiled.

**Mariah Carey's 'Always Be My Baby' was playing while I was typing the end. Aww. So because I enjoy the little things, I wrote the kissing scene to take place on my birthday, January 13****th****. (Don't worry. There is a reason why Edward wasn't in school on Monday and Tuesday. The next chapter will explain it.) So how about we all pretend it's my birthday and give me the gift of awesome reviews! Hope you enjoyed! =D**


	21. Middle of the Meadow

**This chapter is dedicated to all the Edward/Bella lovers out there! And I'm pretty sure that's everyone reading this story…. Hope you enjoy this one!**

Looking up at him I couldn't believe that this guy had been mad at me just a few seconds ago. He may not have kissed me back, but that smile gave me what I needed. He was giving me a chance.

Not really knowing what to do, I felt his large hand wrap around mine. Before I was fully aware of what was going on, Edward was pulling me through the large crowd of people that I'm guessing had formed when I kissed him.

"Where are we going?" I asked, startled.

"You want to talk, don't you?"

"Now?" I got my answer when Edward pushed open the double doors that were the entrances and exits to the school. "Edward, what about our classes?"

"Screw them, Bella. This is more important." He sounded like his old self again and the fact that he called me Bella didn't go unnoticed.

With the sun blazing above us, he held my hand as we ran to his Volvo like children. We released as we approached it. Edward completely forgot about chivalry and left me to step into the passenger seat myself while he entered the driver's seat. I didn't mind.

Edward started the car and as he was backing out, my phone vibrated in my pocket. It was a text message from Jacob.

_Bella, where the hell are you? What's this I'm hearing about you kissing Edward and then running off with him? Emily's freaking out. Call me._

I closed my phone and put it back in my pocket deciding to call him later. Edward looked at me quizzically.

"Jacob." I answered. "Just wondering what's going on." He nodded and looked out onto the road uncomfortably. And I knew why.

"You should call him."

"It's alright. He can wait." I looked at him. I noticed his jaw clench. "It's okay, Edward."

"No, it's not. I'm sorry. I was just so mad at you and I figured they had something to do with it. I felt like they had betrayed me... but I'm sorry. Really. And I do plan on apologizing in person when I get the chance."

"Edward, if anyone should be sorry for anything, it should be me." A silence followed and I wasn't sure if it was because he agreed or because he didn't have anything to say. So I just looked out the window. "Where are we going?" We were off school property and somewhere in town. The road we were on didn't seem to lead to anywhere familiar to me.

Edward pulled over on the side of the road.

"I don't know. I didn't really notice we were driving around aimlessly. Do you know of anywhere we could talk privately?" I shook my head, facing the possibility that we could end up having this very important conversation in Edward's car in the middle of a random Summit street. Edward looked at me. "I know!" He put the gear shift lever on drive and turned back onto the road. I didn't question him, just let him drive. "It's a bit of a drive though."

"How long?"

"About half an hour. Maybe forty minutes." I nodded, because it could have been a five hour drive, but as long as I was with Edward, I didn't care.

We got onto the highway, driving further and further away from Summit. After a few minutes, he spoke again.

"It's this park where my parents would take me and my brothers when we were younger. Before my mom passed away. One day, I went off by myself and came across this clearing. Well, it's more like a meadow. I stayed there a bit until I heard my parents calling my name. I liked it so much I went back there a couple more times after that. But I haven't gone back in years. I hope I still remember how to get there." He ended with a chuckle. I smiled at the fact that he wanted to take me to a place that seemed to be special to him.

I hadn't really noticed the time that had passed, but it seemed to be about another thirty-five minutes before he stopped the car. It was definitely no parking lot. The road wasn't even paved. We were parked outside of what seemed to be the entrance to a forest.

"We'll have to walk from here." He told me. I nodded, seeing that it would be impossible to drive through the abundance that stood in front of us.

I undid my seatbelt and got out of the car. Edward did the same.

"So where's this park you were talking about? This isn't the main entrance, is it?"

"No, no. It's just easier to get where we need to be this way."

"Oh."

"Okay, just stay behind me." He instructed as he started into the forest. Another five minutes passed as he led me through bushes, branches, twigs, and the bumpy ground. Finally, he pulled back a few long branches at once to reveal a setting that looked, for lack of a better word, heavenly.

No, really. If I had died and gone to heaven, this is what it would look like.

The 'meadow', as Edward liked to call it, was in the shape of a giant circle. The grass was short and the most brilliant shade of green. Butterflies and birds flew around the place and chirped and opened their beautiful wings along the way. The atmosphere itself was breathtaking. The sky was bright with its clouds white and puffy and an animated feel to them. Looking at it made it hard to believe that it was located in the middle of a forest. It was perfect and made me feel like me and Edward were the only people in the world.

Despite all I thought of it, I only managed to speak one word.

"Wow."

"Yeah. I… umm. You- you're the first person I've ever brought here."

"Really?" I asked as I took a few steps in. He nodded

"So just take a seat wherever and let's talk." Without responding, I walked to what I guessed was the exact middle of the circle and instead of sitting, I lay down. Edward copied me. I carefully took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. I'm glad Edward didn't try to rush me because even though with this, I didn't know how or where to start. At long last, I spoke.

"Last May, I dropped all my school stuff in the middle of the hallway. You helped me pick it up. I'll admit, back then I didn't know why you did it. But now, thinking back to that day, I couldn't be happier that you did." I turned to face him, and found that he was looking at me. "That was pretty much the day all this started, Edward. I didn't know it then, but I quickly found out that I had grown attracted to you. Before then, I wouldn't care for you didn't know I existed. Once those feelings started, it was sometimes all I would think about. And then I told Jacob how I felt about you, and well, you know Jacob." He nodded, giving a slight smile. "It was all him. The great act at the movie theater, the fight between you two, all him. I'm forever going to be telling myself how I'm not grateful enough for a friend like him.

Then came the night of your birthday, and I swear Edward, I never intended to be someone I wasn't. I was going to tell you it was really me and by not doing so I pretty much ruined our entire relationship. When I left without telling you why, I figured you would just forget about me, but when we got back to school on Monday morning, I saw that you didn't. And I knew then that I should have told you. But I couldn't, and it's for the same reason I haven't been able to tell you after all these months." Edward froze, waiting, and I knew I had to say it.

"It's because I fell in love with you. And that just made it all the more harder to tell you. The scariest thing was, I didn't even know it yet. I didn't realize I was in love with you until- until New Years. But the reason I couldn't tell you was because how was I ever supposed to believe that a girl like me could make the Edward Cullen, Summit High's most sought after guy feel like that? Telling you it was me…you would have probably laughed at me I didn't think you could possibly feel about me, the same why I felt about you. The whole thing was like a dream and telling you would have been the alarm clock, telling me to wake up. It sounds stupid, I know, but I kept thinking I wasn't good enough for you, that you'd feel like an idiot for developing any sort of romantic feelings for me. So I just let it go. I figured with time, and that you never found Cinderella, you would forget too.

And then we became friends. Really good friends, in fact, and I wanted nothing more that to just tell to, but I couldn't! Jacob and Emily had stopped pressuring me into it, but I knew I had to do it. Even though you stopped looking, I knew you never stopped thinking about her, about me. And that's how I knew. That's how I knew how you felt about me and when I finally decided I was going to tell you, Alice and Rosalie beat me to it. Honestly, I wasn't even all that mad at them, I was mad at myself, for allowing this lie to go on for so long. Believe me Edward, I know how hurt you felt. I do. When you ran out, it destroyed me. I was a mess. I shut myself away from everyone and everything. But a whole bunch of things happened this weekend that led me to do what I did today. So here we are, and that's it. I know sorry isn't enough, but now that you've heard me out, I hope you can forgive me. I really do." I turned away from him and to the side, praying that he didn't see the tears that had started forming.

"Bella," Something about his gentle voice forced me to face him again, despite the tear that began its journey down my cheek. He brushed it away. "Thank you for explaining all that to me. And I'm sorry for not listening earlier. But there are a couple of things you're wrong about as well as a few things you need to know.

I always knew you existed. Just because I never spoke to you, doesn't mean I didn't know you were around. Also, don't ever say you're not good enough for me ever again. That could _never_ be the case. And for someone to fall for you, that wouldn't be the act of an idiot. An idiot would be someone who didn't fall for you.

Bella, I don't think you realize how amazing you are. Very few people could do what you just did. You're brave, kind, patient, smart, funny, beautiful, but most importantly, honest. I hate the way I found out the truth, and I hate the way I felt afterwards. But if that's what it took for you to kiss me in that hallway and for us to be here, in this moment, confessing how we felt about each other, then I wouldn't take any of it back. Our friendship was great, and then we lost it, and now… now-."

"Now what?" I whispered.

"Well, I don't know what you want Bella, but I know what I want." He positioned himself to sit cross legged on the grass, and even though he didn't tell me to, I did the same. We ended up with our knees almost touching. He looked me in the eyes and spoke. "I want to be with you Bella. Every second we spent together, my feelings for you grew. Eventually, it came to a point where it didn't matter about Cinderella because instead of wasting my time looking for her, all I wanted was you. And when I found out you were Cinderella the whole time, it was like a huge wave of emotions threatening to drown me. They were all different types of emotions. But the most prominent one…was love. Oddly enough, when Alice and Rosalie confessed the truth that was the moment I realized that I was in love with you.

I just have the worse way of showing it. I didn't know what to do. So I just went with the easiest emotion to portray. Hurt and anger, because I definitely felt those two." He sighed and shook his head. I took this as a signal that he was done.

"Edward? I think we're the two weirdest people I know. I mean, we just told one another that we're in love with each other and we haven't done anything about it." Before I could fully finish my sentence, I exploded in laughter at the whole situation. Shortly after, Edward did too.

Our laughs were uncontrollable. Tears filled our eyes and arms went to our stomachs. We toppled over and returned to our previous positions on the grass, lying down, and parallel to one another. Our laughter died down and after a couple of minutes, we were left to look up at the sky as well as something new to think about.

An idea occurred to me and thanks to my newfound confidence, I was able to act on it.

In one swift motion, I ended up lying on top of Edward with my elbows supporting my weight. He didn't seem flustered by daring movement and chuckled instead. The sound emanating from somewhere in his chest made me smile and as I leaned in, I saw him do the same.

This kiss, unlike the one that occurred nearly two hours ago, was returned the instant my lips touched his. Never mind that I had close to zero experience in this department, but now that I was kissing Edward Cullen in a beautiful setting, I felt like a million dollars.

He placed his hand on my waist and I pulled myself up closer to him, pressing my lips more firmly on his. I don't know about him, but I definitely felt passion, regardless of the lack of tongue. It was sweet, romantic, and very much how a first kiss is supposed to be. It was something out of a Disney movie, I swear.

After a few more seconds, we broke apart and I don't think I've ever seen a bigger grin on Edward's face. He brushed some hair behind my ear.

"That should have been our first kiss." He mumbled, but it was loud enough for me to hear. I remained on him but pulled back to see his face.

"It is." I responded out loud. "I wouldn't really consider what I did in the hallway to be our first kiss. Since you didn't kiss me back and all."

"Hey, I-."

"No, it's fine." I got off him and sat down by his side. I swear I saw disappointment cross his face. "I get it. But don't worry. You totally made up for it just now." I couldn't help it. I blushed.

He smirked and lay down on the grass once more. I followed, only this time, I nestled in close to him. I faced him as his arm went around me.

"So you've kissed Jacob, huh?" He asked.

"Yeah." I laughed once. "It was out of the blue though. He took me completely by surprise. But you would know that we kissed anyway. Remember the movie theater?"

"It doesn't seem fair though." He went on, ignoring me. "I mean, you've kissed both me and Jacob. Maybe I should kiss Emily to get even."

"I don't think Jacob would like that very much." I replied with a tint of anger.

"No, I don't think you would like that very much." Edward corrected.

"No, I wouldn't." I confirmed and got another chuckle out of him. "So did you hear back from Dartmouth?"

"Mmm hmm." He said with a nod, giving no indication of whether he'd been accepted or not.

"And?"

"I got in." He answered nonchalantly. Then, as if he couldn't help himself, he broke out into a huge smile.

"Really?" I returned one that was nearly as big as his.

"Yeah." He nodded like an overly happy child. "You?"

"I heard back." I tried to put on the same act as Edward. He gestured with his hand for me to continue. "I got in too." I, like him, gave my uncontrollable wide grin.

"Seriously?" I nodded enthusiastically. "Bella, that's amazing. I told you that you could do it." He hugged me closer. "Looks like I've found my roommate."

He noticed when I cast my gaze downward and stayed quiet.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have said that." I shook my head and bought it back up to meet his.

"It's okay. Dartmouth might not even have co-ed dorms."

"I hope they do." Edward spoke quietly, but I still heard him. I smiled, but it was more to myself than to him.

I moved on to our next topic of conversation. One that I was really curious, yet a little hesitant to ask about.

"So I hate to be the one to bring this up, but how's your dad feeling about what happened with Esme?"

"Bella, he walked in on his fiancé and girlfriend of nearly seven years having sex with another man. How do you think he feels?"

"Well, I don't know. That's why I'm asking." I replied innocently. He gave a wry smile and answered.

"He's distraught. Still can't believe it. He's barely spoken a word to any-." He stopped when he noticed I was laughing quietly. He looked at me.

"I'm sorry. I know it's wrong to laugh at this. It's just that-."

"Esme deserves it." He nodded, showing that he agreed.

Now it was Edward's turn to question me.

"So what happened this weekend?"

Interrupted from my bliss, I turned towards him.

"Huh?"

"Back when you were rambling," he teased, "you said you did what you did today because of what happened this weekend. So what happened?"

And then, as if I thought I could speak anymore, I told him everything. Everything from my encounter with his father mere moments before he discovered my stepmother's infidelity to my meeting with Jenks the next day. When I was finished, I was pleased to find that Edward's reactions were similar to mine at every event that occurred: confusion, anger, frustration, happiness, and any other that seemed appropriate.

"So yeah. That's it." I ended.

"Wow. So what's going to happen now?" I smiled, cheerful again.

"Well, let's just say that in a matter of days, Alice, Rosalie, and Esme will have nothing but the clothes on their backs, which are technically mine as well, but I'll let it slide. I'm going to sell as much as I can and use the money for Dartmouth. Although, I have been thinking about keeping Alice's car for myself."

"The Porsche?" I nodded.

"I _really_ like that car." He laughed.

"Alright then. It's your car. You can do whatever you want with it."

"Exactly." I grinned and turned to face the clouds once again. "Edward?"

"Yes?"

"All jokes aside, where does this leave us? What-what are we?"

"Bella," Edward faced me with a serious look. "I thought I made myself clear. I want to be in a relationship with you."

"Yeah, I know but," I sat up, still looking at him. "just like that? We're just going to walk into school tomorrow morning holding hands, happy as can be and everything's going to be okay?"

"Of course." Edward shot up, and went to cup my face. "Why wouldn't it be like that?" I looked at the ground.

"I don't know. I guess despite everything good that's happened to me lately, I'm still expecting something to go horribly wrong." I looked at him and it was something in his eyes that made me realize how stupid I sounded. "But you're not going to be that something, are you?"

"No." He whispered and proceeded to close the space between us. He kept his head on my cheek as he kissed me, this time with more passion than before. Pulling away seemed impossible, but it's not like I wanted to anyway. My fingers went into his hair, holding his head in place as I returned his kiss. I smiled, not being able to control myself. I felt Edward smile too and I used this bit of separation to pull away. I looked at him and bit my lip, feeling complete euphoria.

"You know, I believe you have something that belongs to me." I reminded him. I was talking, of course, about my locket. Edward looked confused. "It's small, golden, shaped like a heart, fell of my neck and onto the steps of your front porch." Edward smiling, understanding.

"Well, I can't give it to you." He spoke as he went to kiss my neck. I pushed him away.

"Why not?" I asked fiercely.

"You didn't answer the questions. You didn't do anything that I planned for whatever girl was claiming to be Cinderella to do."

I gave him a look.

"What?" He laughed.

"Edward, after everything we went through, you still want me to prove myself? What the -?"

"Bella, relax." He continued laughing. "I'm going to give it to you." He pulled out my precious locket form his jeans front pocket. I looked at it with a wide smile, glad to be seeing it again.

"She's beautiful." Edward spoke. "It's your mother, right? The woman in the picture?"

I nodded.

"Yeah." He held it up by the ends of his fingers. I examined it and began telling Edward the tale. "It was going to be given to me a few weeks after I was born. When my mother died, my dad didn't feel like he should do anything else like engrave it or anything. He just kept her picture in there and took out his own. He gave it to me as is. It's the only thing I have left of her. It's the most important thing in the world to me." I looked at him. "Thank you for taking care of it." He nodded and went to unclasp it. He twirled his finger, telling me to turn around. I shifted and sat so my back was facing him and pulled my hair up, exposing the back of my neck.

He bought it around and I felt his fingers brush the back of my neck as he connected the two ends of the necklace.

Edward reached over to kiss my cheek as he opened his legs so I could sit comfortably between them. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I leaned backwards into his hug. We both smiled at the pleasure of being with each other.

I don't really remember how much longer we stayed in the meadow.

**Now we all knew this story would not be complete without a meadow scene SOMEWHERE! Reviews are very much appreciated. Thanks for reading! **


	22. What Goes Around, Comes Around

**So as you can see by the scroll bar, this is going to be a very long chapter. *takes deep breath* It's also the last one. I'm wrapping things up here guys. I hope you don't hate me! I realize I've given no warning and that's because wasn't 100% sure that it would be. But it is. I worked very hard on this and tried to write something that could please everyone, so hopefully it does. I thank you all in advance, but you'll see a much longer one at the end of this chapter. And so without further ado, I present the final chapter of Isabella.**

**Alice's POV**

My plan went perfectly. Giving Isabella the worst year of her life was easier than I thought. Rosalie played her part beautifully and we both captivated our audience. I'll admit, I wasn't expecting Edward to just walk out in the middle of our announcements, but it sure was the frosting on top of the delicious cake Rosalie and I baked. That and, of course, Isabella running after him crying like a little baby.

Needless to say, she stayed away from me, Rose, and my mom for a while. I wouldn't have had it any other way.

But the day my mom's relationship ended, I was suddenly reminded of how much I hated her. No doubt she had something to do with it. It was the perfect way to get revenge on me and Rosalie.

As for Edward, I really didn't understand why he was being so difficult. I mean, yes, my sister and I single handedly ruined your relationship, but get over it already! He completely ignores us and I just know he hates sharing the same lunch table. Grow a pair. Seriously.

If life were a newspaper, Isabella's return to school after a week long absence definitely made the headlines. Word got around faster than, well just as fast as the word of what Rosalie and I had said at our party.

I wasn't one of those lucky people that witnessed Isabella's rejected kiss to Edward in the hallway. So I certainly didn't know about them running off together until hours after it happened. I only found out about it when Jasper called me that night and told me what went down between Edward and Isabella in some meadow. According to him, Isabella and Edward are now officially a couple.

I almost threw up when he told me.

Everything was starting to go terribly wrong. Things weren't supposed to turn out like this. Them being a couple, her discovering what's been going on with her money, no! She's not supposed to end up happily ever after, but it seems like with every passing day, she's getting there. Rosalie and I don't like it. Not one bit.

Yesterday, the happy couple debuted themselves by entering school hand-in-hand. Isabella, who would normally turn red at a situation like this, smiled like she was queen of the fucking world. Edward acted no differently. They walked down the hall until they had met up with Joshua and Erica, or whatever their names are.

They may think they're hot stuff now, but they better not get used to it. They know very well who the power couples are at this school: me and Jasper and Rosalie and Emmett.

Speaking of Jazzy, he offered to drive me to school today. Normally, I take my yellow and black beauty and we meet up at school. So this was new.

As I stepped into Jasper's car and gave him a quick kiss, I couldn't help but notice he looked different. Tense, almost. I smiled at him, hoping he'd do it as well. He did, but I still sensed something was up.

He's probably just tired.

We started driving away from my house and I decided to ask.

"Jazzy, did you get a good night's sleep?"

He looked at me briefly.

"Yes, why?"

"You just looked tired, that's all." I shrugged and pulled down the flap above me the held the mirror. I checked for any flyaways.

"So this is new. Why did you want to pick me up today?" I looked at him, waiting for his answer. He shrugged and smiled wider than before.

"Aww Jazz, you're so cute!"

"So….Isabella…." I frowned.

"Ugh. Look, Jasper, I really don't want to spend this car ride or the rest of my life actually, talking about Isabella. This is our time, so let's just enjoy it okay?"

He nodded slowly and kept his eyes on the road.

That's the great thing about Jasper and mine's relationship. We're not really verbal communicators. We can be sitting in the car with the radio on low volume, like we are right now, and still enjoy each other's company.

Jasper's not much of a talker, but he's got quiet a mouth.

I know I may come off as mean or, dare I say, bitchy, but just like any other girl, I'm sensitive when it come to sex. I wanted my first time to be special and I knew for a while that it was Jasper I wanted to lose it to. So when we finally did it the day after Christmas, I couldn't have been happier. If possible, I fell even more in love with him.

"So, umm, anything exciting going on in your classes?"

"Since when is school ever exciting?" He chuckled.

"True."

"Oh, but let me tell you something that happened in Spanish class yesterday. So we're partnered up to do this project and I got paired with that chick, Lauren. So we start the project and she starts bitching at me about how I don't conjugate properly. I tell her I don't care because it's not like I ever plan to go to Me-he-co or anything. She _keeps_ bitching at me so I tell her to fuck off and she ends up moving to the other side of the room to work with someone else. Thank God because I swear, Braceface was seriously getting on my nerves." I noticed the car had stopped and I looked around at our surrounding. "Oh, we're here." I noticed the parked cars and familiar faces walking around. I turned and saw Jasper looking through the windshield absently, his left elbow on the windowsill, holding his head up. I had to ask.

"Baby, what's wrong? You seem tense." A few seconds passed and Jasper cleared his throat.

"Alice, we uhh, we need to talk."

"Okay. What about?" He looked at me and continued.

"I want to break up."

"WHAT?"

"I want to break up with you, Alice."

"Wait, what? Why?"

"I-I don't feel about you the same way I used to feel."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Alice, please don't get mad. Just- just hear me out." I folded my arms across my chest, allowing him to continue. "You-you've made my opinion of you change. The way things have been lately…I don't like it, Ali. After what you did at New Year's-."

"Is this seriously about Edward and Isabella? Really? You know, your brother and my step-sister are _dating_ now because of something that I said. If anything, you should be thanking me."

"See, that's what I mean Alice! You're just…. You're so…." But whatever I was, I didn't find out. Jasper left the car, leaving me in there still confused.

"No, Jasper, wait." I stepped out of the car and walked rapidly to catch up with him. "Jasper." I took his hand and turned him around to face me. When he wouldn't look at me, I took his face in my hands. "Alright, look I know, okay? I know I can be a little…difficult sometimes. But I didn't know it bothered you so much." He shook his head, frustrated, and led me to place my arms around his neck. "I can change, okay baby? I promise I will. Just give me a chance." I leaned in to kiss him, but he pulled his way out of my grasp and walked towards the school building, not looking back.

I chased after him.

"Jasper." I spoke as soon as I knew he could hear me. "Jasper, wait." He walked faster and so I picked up the pace. He started up the stone steps. I kept behind him. He opened the door and stepped inside. Before the door could fully close behind him, I opened it back up and allowed myself in.

"Jasper!" I all but screamed. Luckily, he turned around and stopped walking. I stepped up to him. I did notice a few people looking at us but I didn't care. Once I got close enough to him, I spoke softly. "Jasper, just…please tell me what's wrong. I love you. Don't do this to me, okay? Tell me what this is really about." I took his hand as I spoke.

He opened his mouth and closed it, like he was thinking of how to start. I squeezed his hand for encouragement. After a few seconds, he started.

"I just- I don't want us to end up like our parents." I thought about what he said. I couldn't believe it once I realized what he meant.

"You-you think I'm cheating on you?" He stayed silent. "Jasper! I can't believe-. Jazzy, I would never do that to you. I love you so much. What, you think that because my mother did it to your father that I'm going to do that to you?" He moved his head slowly, but it looked a lot like a nod. I smiled due to the relief I felt that that was the only problem. "I'm not cheating on you Jasper. I mean, look around, who would I do it with?"

"It's not just that, Alice. There's other things." I had a feeling that he didn't listen to what I said.

"Like what?" I questioned.

"You're not a good person, Alice! You're not. You're manipulative, you cause trouble, and you're cold-hearted. I don't know why it took me so long to see it, but now that I have, I really don't like it. Alice, I don't want to be in a relationship with you anymore." He turned to walk away but I held onto his hand, forcing him to look at me. I stepped closer and put my arms around his neck like I did out in the parking lot.

"Alright," I whispered and looked straight into his eyes. "I get it. I'm sorry and I don't know how much you want me to apologize, but please don't do this. Please. I love you." I heard my voice crack and I was sure Jasper could see the tears forming in my eyes. "I understand I've done some things in the past, but I never wanted to hurt you. I love you more than anything in the world. Please Jasper." He dropped his gaze and looked at the floor. Before that, I only saw a small look of sadness, but it wasn't enough to stop him from reaching behind his neck and releasing my hands. He bought them in front of me and let them go. I let out a soft gasp.

"It's over Alice."

He walked away.

I am not going to cry. I won't. Not here. Not in the middle of this stupid school hallway in front of my stupid schoolmates that just witnessed my breakup. I'll go to the bathroom or some empty classroom. Anywhere. But I can't move. All I can really do is take a few deep breaths to not only control my tears, but to stop myself from yelling at everyone.

After what felt like forever, I took a step forward and walked towards the bathroom where I hoped no one would be.

The second the bathroom door closed behind me, I let it all out. Tears rushed down and within seconds, I was in desperate need of a tissue. Unfortunately, my school decided to go all high tech and install those automatic hand dries for the bathrooms.

In the middle of a sob, I heard a footstep. With my eyes focused on the ground, I walked across the room. Upon closer inspection, I saw black leather, three inch high boots with a red floral design running down the side. There is only one person I know that owns that pair of shoes.

"Rosalie?"

I heard the latch slide back and I stepped away to allow the door to open. Sure enough, it was my sister, even though she didn't look how I last saw her this morning. Her eye makeup left streaks down her cheeks and her lips had no color. Her eyes were red and her nose seemed to be running. She was pale and despite her tall figure, she looked small, like a frightened child. She dabbed a bit of toilet paper near her left eye before she looked at me. There was only one explanation for the way she looked.

"Rose," I started through my own sniffle. "did-did Emmett…. Did he break-?" She shut her eyes tight, nodded, and rest her forehead on my shoulder. I let out a breath and hugged my sister. I couldn't believe it. A double break up? By the Cullen brothers? What the hell?

I put my hands on her shoulders and pulled her away so she could look at me.

"Rose, listen to me. Look at me!" She blinked a few times and used the toilet paper to wipe the gunk from under her eyes. She focused her attention on me. "Me too." I nodded. "Jasper…." I trailer off, unable to say it out loud. The memory of it caused a few more tears to form. "But we can't let it affect us like this. We have to be strong. We lived the first fourteen years of our lives without Jasper and Emmett and we can surely do the same for the rest of our lives. Right?" My sister nodded, but she didn't seem so sure of it. "Screw them, Rosalie. We don't need them to make us happy. And we're certainly not going to cry over them. Mom would beat us if she saw us right now." She laughed and agreed.

I pushed her hair back behind her ear in an attempt to comfort her. To prove that I was the stronger one, I put on a wide smile, which must have looked weird with my face wet from fallen tears. "Let's get cleaned up, alright?" She nodded and walked with me to the sinks.

Although there was no way to lock the bathroom, nobody better come in here unless they wanted to be the ones crying. After washing our faces with cold water and the school's cheap liquid soap, Rosalie and I dumped the contents of our makeup bags in the area between the sinks.

After a half hour or so, all our make up was reapplied. It was silent among us, but I preferred that over hearing any talk of Emmett and Jasper. Once I was sure I looked fabulous again and looking over at Rosalie and seeing that she did too, everything went back into our bags. We made sure we didn't leave anything behind, and then turned to face each other. With a smile, I approached my gorgeous sister with open arms. Returning my smile, she closed the gap and hugged me. I gave her as much of a squeeze as I could and pulled away.

"We'll be fine, right?" I asked with a confident smile.

"Hell yeah."

I laughed once and grabbed my bag from the sink.

I was halfway to the door when the beep that signaled an upcoming announcement went off.

"Will Alice Brandon and Rosalie Hale please report to the main office? Alice Brandon and Rosalie Hale to the office immediately." Ms. Block, the secretary's voice, called. By the time the announcement was over, we were already in the empty hallway. I looked back at Rosalie to see her reaction. She seemed curious.

"It's probably because we're not in class." I shrugged. Rosalie nodded and walked besides me towards the office.

A couple of minutes later, we were opening the door to the main office. Noticing that Ms. Block just got off a phone call, I walked to her desk. She looked up as I approached.

"Hi, I'm Alice. This is Rosalie. You just called us here a few minutes ago." I reminded her. "Sorry we're not in class. We had some personal business to take care of." I continued before she could get a word in. "But we'll be making our way over there right now. Thank you." I said before turning away.

"Wait," Ms. Block spoke. "This isn't about skipping class. Principal Varner needs to see you two." I turned back to her, confused.

"What's this about?" Rosalie beat me in asking.

"I don't know. You have to go talk to him. You can go on in." She explained right before picking up the phone and punching in numbers. Rosalie and I looked at each other with questions in our eyes. I shrugged, hoisted my bag onto my shoulder, and motioned for her to walk towards Principal Varner's office. Rosalie knocked and after hearing a 'Come in', she opened the door and hesitantly took a step in.

"Ms. Hale." He said upon seeing her. She moved further into the room. "Ms. Brandon." He greeted when he noticed me. We stood right in front of his desk. I could see various papers on it. Some looked like official documents. Some, I noticed, had our names on them. "Good morning. How are you today?"

"Fine." We lied in unison. He nodded slightly.

"Please, take a seat." I did as I was told. Rosalie stayed still.

"Are we in trouble for something?" She asked.

"We'll get to that." He said. "Please, sit down." She did. Principal Varner's response made me worry and I'm sure it showed on my face. Rosalie's as well.

"So," Mr. Varner let out a breath. "I'd like to start off by asking you girls a question." I blinked. I noticed Rosalie nod. "How do you think you're doing in school?"

"Okay, before we answer," I blurted. "I have to ask. Does this have anything to do with us skipping class this morning?" I saw his eyes widen. "Because I already told Ms. Block we had personal issues to deal with."

He coughed.

"No, no, Ms. Brandon, this has nothing to do with you cutting class. Well, I suppose, in a way, it does…. But please, answer my question." With relief but still a bit of confusion, I turned to look at Rose as we helped each other answer.

"Well, I guess…." I started.

"Pretty good." Finished Rose.

"Yeah, we're handing in the assignments and passing the tests and all that. I mean, we're not as good as that Joseph guy, but we're decent." I ended and was supported by a nod from Rosalie.

Principal Varner folded his hands.

"I see. Well then you'll be surprised when you hear what I'm about to say. As of today, you've both been expelled from Summit High School."

It went quiet. Time seemed to stop. Everything froze.

Then I burst out laughing.

"What?" I had difficulty breathing. "We're expelled?" I clutched my stomach. "You must be joking! Rose- Rosalie, did you hear that?" I leaned forward and reached for her arm."We've been expelled!" I nearly fell off my chair. "Is it April first already? Where's Ashton?" At long last I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down. Once my breathing was back to normal, I spoke again. "No but seriously, why are we here?" Mr. Varner's expression did not change throughout my hysteria. He simply looked at me.

"Ms. Brandon, this isn't funny. Nor is it a joke. You and Ms. Hale have both been expelled."

"Why?" Rosalie asked and sounded on the verge of tears.

"Rosalie, I'll handle this." I turned to her and put a hand up. "So what the hell is this about? Did you not hear what we just said? We're great students. We always have been. So what the hell do you mean by saying we've been expelled?"

Instead of speaking, he answered by handing me two small stacks of paper lying on his desk. One that looked all typed and one that was printed from the Internet.

"Ms, Brandon, do those papers seem similar to you?" I looked at the one in my left hand and remembered it as a report I had done for my anatomy class. The Internet printout in my right hand contained the exact same words. I looked back at him and shrugged. With a nod, he went to snatch the papers out of my hands and handed them over to Rosalie.

"Ms. Hale, how about you? What do you see?" I could see Rosalie gazing at both papers. She looked nervous and her hands were shaking. _Rose….don't say it._

"It's exactly the same." _Damn it, Rose!_

With another nod, he took the papers back and went to lean on his desk.

"You girls have been expelled for repeated acts of plagiarism." He looked at us and the look I returned appeared to be the start of a stare down.

"Alice, what is he talking about?" I ended it early and turned to face Rose, who was looking at me with a scared look on her face.

I sighed.

"Rosalie, we're being accused of cheating."

"I'm not accusing you, Alice, I know." Mr. Varner interrupted and dropped all formalities.

Let me just explain something here. In all honesty, Mr. Varner is one hundred percent correct. But answer me this: what the hell was I supposed to do? After Isabella isolated herself from the rest of the world, how was I supposed to keep up in school? I certainly wasn't going to be the one to tell her to suck it up, build a bridge, and get over it. And I sure as hell wasn't going to do the work myself, even if I understood any of it. So I did what I had to do. And because of my brilliance, Rosalie followed suit.

I did try to do the work myself, I swear I did. But it was just too difficult and I knew handing in assignments that Rosalie and I had done ourselves would result in a bad grade. So I copied a little. Okay, a lot. Alright, so maybe it was the whole fucking thing. We should seriously get As for effort though. We worked hard to get the material we found! We went through the Internet, magazines, and I even brought home the damn textbook!

I knew there was a risk of being caught. A very high risk. I won't lie and tell you I wasn't nervous the day I handed in the first assignment I copied. But after that one, it all seemed smooth sailing and Rosalie told me the same had gone for her. So we kept doing it and every time we never got the impression that anyone was suspicious of us. The first week was horrible, seeing as we were still adjusting. Soon enough though, we got the hang of it.

But despite the tired eyes, endless cups of coffee, and two missed nail appointments, we're sitting here, in the principal's office, being notified that we've been expelled for plagiarism. We're totally busted. Fuck.

"You know what I'm going to do?" I spoke to Mr. Varner while keeping my composure. "I'm going to call my mother because she really should know about this." I reached into my bag for my cell phone.

"Your mother is on her way. She was called before you two were." I looked back at him and removed my hand from my bag.

I realized something just then.

Even though Rosalie had followed in my footsteps with the whole cheating thing, I didn't know if she and I shared the fear of being caught. I never told her how I felt. If I had, we would have come up with some sort of plan of what to do if that day ever came about. All I could hope for was that she wouldn't blab out that truth in her state of nervousness. If we could just hold on until mom gets here, we should be okay. Mom will take care of this.

"Alright then," I spoke. "We'll just wait until she comes in."

Mr. Varner chuckled as he went around his desk and sat in his chair.

"Ms. Brandon, is this your way of confessing?" I raised my eyebrows at him, got up, and began walking around the room.

"No, but what else can we do? You don't believe me. Maybe getting her in here will somehow change your mind."

"I highly doubt that, Ms. Bran-." He was interrupted when the beeping of his office phone signaled an incoming call. He pushed a button and answered. "Yes?"

"Mr. Varner, you have an Esme Swan here to see you." Ms. Block's voice came through the speakerphone. I smiled.

"Thank you, Ms. Block. Let her in, please." He composed himself and it was only seconds before his office door burst open and my mom entered the room.

"Oh, Alice!" She approached me and gave me a quick hug before moving on to Rose who stood up at the sight of her. "Rosalie!" She gave her a hug too. "Hello." She looked at my principal with a non-nurturing look.

He stood up and stuck out his hand.

"Good morning Mrs. Swan-."

"Miss." My mom corrected him while ignoring his hand.

He nodded.

"Miss Swan, I am Principal Varner-."

"Yes, yes, we've established that. Can you please tell me why my girls are in your office? I'll admit, your phone call startled me a bit." And as to show what his phone call had done to her, she took my old seat in front of his desk. I decided not to say anything. Let my mom handle this on her own.

Rosalie turned and gave me an apprehensive look. I gave her a grin.

"Miss Swan, I know that this will be disappointing for you to hear, but your daughters have been expelled from this school."

The silence that came when he initially told me and Rose returned. It was like reliving that moment, only that when my mother spoke, she wasn't busting a gut from laughter.

"I'm sorry, you must be mistaken. My girls would never do anything to get themselves expelled." He didn't say anything but instead handed her the same papers he handed me earlier. She looked back and forth at the two and furrowed her brows. She gave a shrug and handed them back to him.

"Plagiarism, Miss Swan."

"I understand. What I don't understand is why my daughters are being expelled for having done such a good job on their assignments that they have been put up on the Internet. If anything, they should be praised."

I had to hide my smirk.

"It's more than that Miss Swan." Mr. Varner continued, pretending that he hadn't heard her. "I've gotten complaints from teachers and it's them that most of these printouts came from." He gestured to the mess on his desk.

"So you're going to take the word of a bunch of middle aged schoolteachers who are _paid_ to work in your school over two scared teenage girls and their concerned parent?"

"No, Miss Swan. It's just that-."

"Are you aware that I have another kid enrolled at this school? Isabella?"

"Yes, I'm aware."

"Okay, and if you look into her school record, you'll see that she is an excellent student. How do you know that her methods for her achieving her high grades aren't the same as what you are accusing Alice and Rosalie of? Why isn't she in here, having this lovely discussion, with us as well?"

"Miss Swan, no teacher has ever complained or reported anything negative about Isabella."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Positive."

"Hmm." She stayed quiet and looked around the room. "Are you married, Mr. Varner?" He looked a little taken aback by this sudden change in topic, but it didn't seem like he wasn't going to answer.

"Why, yes. Happily."

"I'm a widow, you know." Ahh, the guilt trip method. "Isabella's father. It happened when the girls were very young.

"I'm- I'm very sorry to hear that." Mom nodded.

"Yes, well he wasn't Alice and Rosalie biological father, but he loved them like one. He wanted the best for his girls…. Just like I'm sure you want what's best for your students…. Unless I'm mistaken?" Mom looked up at him innocently and blinked.

"Well- well, no. I care about my students." Mr. Varner stuttered.

"Then surely, you must understand that expelling Rosalie and Alice for something they may or may not have done would not be the best thing to do. Think of their future, Mr. Varner. They are less than six months from graduating high school. What is this going to mean for the rest of their lives? And the worst part is that you think they're lying. You think they're cheaters and liars. Trust me Mr. Varner, my daughters would never do either one of those things. Ever."

"Miss Swan, I'm not-."

"Mom," Rosalie spoke. It had been the first time in almost twenty minutes that she drew everyone's attention to her. "I have something to say." I looked at her.

"What is it Rosalie?" Mom said once she turned away from our principal.

"Umm, well the thing is…." I straightened up from leaning against the wall by the entrance to the office and walked to the other side of her. "Umm…."

"Rosalie." My mother spoke with an air of impatience.

"He's right." Rosalie choked out.

_Damn it._

"Rosalie."I spoke strictly, silently telling her to be quiet. She looked at me with a frightened look then quickly turned back to our mother.

"Mr. Varner's right mom."

"Rosalie, shut up!" I yanked her arm and forced her to face me. She fought back and released herself.

"Alice and I have been cheating. We've been doing it for a couple of weeks, but it was only because we needed to. We had no other choice. But please don't be mad. It's just-." I didn't listen to the rest of what she said. I closed my eyes and ran a hand through my hair, trying to think of a way out of this.

She was still speaking when I thought of something.

"She's delusional!" I blurted. The three of them looked at me. "Rose is crazy. She doesn't know what she's talking about. Her boyfriend just broke up with her so she's miserable and she- she doesn't know what to do. That- that's all." I explained to Mr. Varner.

"Emmett broke up with her?" Mom asked. I looked at her.

"Yea- yeah. And Jasper broke up with me. But it's no big deal. Whatever. Mr. Varner," I returned to him, "don't listen to Rose She's just crazy. Let me get her out of here. She probably just needs some air." I reached for her hand and tried to get her up.

Again she snatched it away.

"No Alice. Mr. Varner, you were right. We have been cheating and I'm sorry on behalf of both of us. It won't happen again. But please don't expel -."

"Rosalie," I took her hand in mine and knelt down in front of her. "Stop okay? You're going to get us in trouble. Don't you see that if we get expelled, we can't graduate? And- and then Emmett won't take you back. Okay? So just-."

"Alice, shut up!" Rosalie screamed. I don't know what look my face showed, but I hoped it was shocked. Rosalie shook her hands off, walked over to Mr. Varner, and pleaded him not to expel us.

Fine, Rosalie. Go ahead and sell me out. Confessing is going to screw you over too. See if I give a shit.

I leaned back against the wall closest to the chair Rosalie had resided and crossed my arms. My mom had no idea what to do. But she didn't help Rosalie. She sat and stayed quiet, probably surprised that for once, things did not go as she wanted them to.

Rosalie's attempts were pointless. She had submitted to crying and now looked almost as bad as she had when I found her in the bathroom earlier. But it was official. Rosalie and I are expelled from school. And all I could think of while mom was signing the papers was how fucked up everything was. The situation with Isabella, my relationship, or lack of actually, with Jasper, and now being expelled. Not to mention, of course, my sister and best friend's betrayal. It was way too much to handle.

After signing all final documents, we were instructed to clear everything out of our lockers. Then we had to evacuate the building. Immediately.

Since Jasper and Emmett had driven us to school, we had to ride back in mom's car. Before entering, I turned back around to face the place where so much happened. So many things started and ended here. I noticed Rosalie and my mom standing on either side of me, also looking at the school building.

"Mom?" I heard Rosalie's voice. "What are we going to do now?" She had spoken the question that has been on my mind for a few hours.

As my mother lifted her head slightly, she answered.

"I don't know girls. I don't know."

**Bella's POV**

After Edward and I left the meadow, it was as if a smile had been permanently plastered onto my face. Like I said before, I don't remember how long we were there, but as we were leaving, I noticed the sun setting. The second we got up from the grass, he went to hold my hand and didn't let go until we were standing by his car. It was here where he gave me a kiss that nearly knocked my socks off. Then we rode back to Summit in total silence, the only form of communication being our linked hands in the area between the passenger and driver's seat. I occasionally laughed or blushed when I thought back to the day's events and I could tell Edward was doing to same.

When he stopped the car outside my house, I felt sadness in knowing that I would have to leave him for a few hours. After looking at him, I could tell he felt the same. I squeezed his hand, gave him a quick kiss and reluctantly left the car.

Typically, the first person I told about this as soon as I got to my bedroom was…. Emily. Jacob may be my best friend, but this is the kind of thing you tell your girlfriends about first. I did, however, text Jacob saying that he no longer had to drive me to school ever again. I had a boyfriend to do that now.

After fifteen minutes of shrieks, squeals, and 'awws', Emily had been fully informed. Once I bid her good night and a 'see you tomorrow', I hit the hay early with the biggest smile on my face. To say I had sweet dreams would be a huge understatement.

The next morning, Edward and I entered school hand-in-hand. People were more than pleased to see us together which was something I had been anxious about: how people would react to Edward and Bella, the couple. When I revealed this to Edward at lunch he said it didn't matter what others thought. It's our relationship and not theirs. As long as we're happy, that's all that matters.

Yesterday, I arrived home only to find that Alice and Rosalie were already there. Odd, because they never come home until around five or six o'clock. They always go to the Cullen's house first.

Using my incredible talent of eavesdropping, I discovered the most shocking news I've heard in a very long time. Rosalie and Alice, the same Rosalie and Alice that believe the universe revolves around them, have been dumped. Emmett and Jasper broke up with them.

Took them long enough.

But perhaps the most shocking thing I've ever heard in my entire life would be finding out that Rosalie and Alice have been expelled from school.

I literally have no words to describe how I felt.

I've never been one to gossip or talk about others behind their back, but with something like this, I really needed to ask someone to be sure. But only about the break up, not the expulsion. No way could they have made that up.

Edward confirmed it for me, and although he didn't seen to sound how I felt, I knew deep down, we shared a similar thought: those bitches got what they deserved.

That led us to today. If Alice, Rosalie, and Esme thought they had enough, they haven't seen anything yet. Today was moving day. Moving day for Alice, Rose, and Esme that is.

I woke up bright and early this morning. I was told moving and tow trucks would be arriving around ten. I hadn't gotten the chance to tell Esme the bad news, but I didn't want to wake her up from her beauty sleep to do so now.

Jenks arrived the earliest and explained how today was going to work. Everything I chose would be taken away. I was then up to me to decide what happens to it. Edward, Jacob, and Emily came over shortly after for moral support. It wasn't until Esme's BMW was being towed and the dining room was almost fully cleared out that Esme stormed out of the house towards me. As she came closer I could see shock and various questions register on her face. But I was ready for her.

"Isabella, what the hell is going on here?" From behind her and by the front door, I noticed Alice exit and scan the area with her jaw dropped. She too walked towards us.

"Well, Esme I'm just doing what I said I would do. Take back what's rightfully mine. This is Jenks, by the way. You might remember him." I gestured to my right where Jenks was standing. It wasn't until then that I took in Esme's appearance. Clearly, she had just gotten out of bed. As in like, a few minutes ago. Her usually orderly hair was messy and all over the place. Her eyes still held sleep and there was a bit of dried drool by her mouth. She was wearing a pair of red slippers that matched the rode she was wearing. It was the same one she wore when I found out Carlisle ended their engagement. Navy blue cotton pajama pants covered her legs.

"Hello, Esme." Jenks greeted. "Good to see you again." I couldn't tell if he was joking or not. Esme looked at him like she wanted to punch him in the face. Despite her angry features, she spoke calmly.

"What's going on?" He reached into his briefcase and pulled out the document that made this all possible. Alice had reached us.

"Bella here has discovered Charlie's will. We are just carrying out his wishes." Rosalie stood at the front door with a scared look on her face. She walked over to join us.

"What-what are you talking about? You need my consent before you can do this."

"Mom, what's happening?" Alice asked nervously.

"That's what I'm trying to find out Alice." Esme shut her daughter up. She turned back to Jenks, cocking an eyebrow. I smiled. I was thrilled she'd been the one to set herself up for this. Jenks turned to the last page.

"Isn't this your signature?" he asked nonchalantly. Esme, Alice, and Rosalie, who had just reached us, leaned in to observe the unmistakable cursive of Esme's signature. But I'm sure all of Summit leaned in to see Esme's reaction.

"So what does that mean?" Rosalie asked cluelessly. Jenks turned to her and gave her a small smile.

"It means," he started. "that Isabella Marie Swan is the rightful owner of everything on this property and any money left in the account. And the signature means that your mother, Esme, is not only fully aware of it, but also fully okay with it." Alice let out a breath and looked around the lawn at all the fancy things she had seen in the house growing up. She refused to look at me. I was only evacuating everything valuable. Anything necessary stayed. I still needed to live in this house until I left for Dartmouth in August.

Esme looked…well, indescribable really. I've never seen her look this way. She was flabbergasted and had nothing to say. She and Rosalie looked around the lawn the same way Alice did, but now there was one look on her expression that I could read. It was hopelessness. She knew there was nothing she could do.

Esme looked at her car secured on a tow truck, her sixty thousand dollars dining room set imported from France, and her portraits from some of the world's most famous painters. Rosalie noticed her flashy red convertible in the same condition and I noticed tears start to form in her beautiful eyes. I looked at Alice, who was eyeing her Porsche's abandonment on the driveway. She gave me a questioning look and pointed at it.

"Oh, I decided to keep it. You really do have a very nice car Alice. It's definitely one of your best investments." I don't know what I just said that made her mad, but she looked at me like she wanted to rip my head off.

"You little bit-!"

"Alice, stop it." Esme spoke. She looked at me. "So what are we supposed to do now, Isabella?"

I took a deep breath.

"Well, I'll give you three a couple of hours to pack a few bags and do whatever you need to do and then I want to you to get the hell out of my house." I nodded for assurance. Esme pursed her lips as if she were trying to stop herself from saying something.

"And just where are we supposed to go?" She asked. I shrugged.

"I don't know." I replied. "Figure it out." I tried to hold back my smirk, but despite my attempts, it managed to make its way onto my face.

Without another word, Esme huffed and made her way back into the house. Rosalie gave me a look and followed her. Alice gave me the nastiest look she had ever given me and went back too.

* * *

_Seven months later_

The day I had been waiting for the majority of my life had finally arrived. The day I leave for college. To Dartmouth. With Edward.

Everything had gone according to plan. I have the guy I wanted, the greatest friends in the world, and Esme, Alice, and Rosalie out of my life. I'll never forget those climactic days in January. They were the greatest and worst of my life. But I fought through it with optimism and lots of hope.

The rest of senior year went smoothly. It was a great feeling having to do only my own schoolwork and no one else's. I did discover exactly why Alice and Rosalie had been expelled and I was a bit confused as to when exactly they had plagiarized. Then I remembered the period of time when I was ignoring them and it all made sense. I haven't seen or heard anything from Alice, Rose, or Esme since the day they 'moved out', but hoped they were okay. Sure, I got my revenge but I never wish them any real harm.

Emmett and Jasper haven't seen anyone new since their breakup from Rosalie and Alice, at least not from what I've heard. But being Edward Cullen's girlfriend has its perks, and knowing what goes in the Cullen house is one of them.

The highlight of my high school life was definitely Senior Prom, especially considering that there was a time where I didn't think I would actually go. Emily, Jacob, Edward and I rode in the same limo and had a fantastic time. I felt like a princess. Prom was my ball and I had no fear of everything going back to normal at midnight.

Graduation was great too. Jacob had graduated as valedictorian, as predicted, with the ultra annoying Eric Yorkie as salutatorian. I never told him that I knew about the interviews he had done and thankfully, he never gave me reason to. I was fifth in the class and Emily was surprised to find out that she rounded out the top ten.

Edward and I are going to school on the east coast. And so are Jacob and Emily. Jake's smart self got accepted to the incredible Yale University and Emily's attending the University of New Haven. Two great schools that are only a ten minute car ride from each other.

If there's one thing I've learned though this past year it's that life is what you make it. You'll never get what you want if you don't work for it. It could be as simple as agreeing to make someone jealous in a movie theater or as big as showing your lawyer the contents of your dead father's hidden will. If my confidence hadn't grown with every passing day, who knows where I would be now? Probably scrubbing my kitchen floor or alphabetizing Rosalie's shoes by the designer's name. Instead, I'm going to one of the best colleges in the country with the boy I love and making a cross-country journey with my best friends.

Jacob and Emily played a huge part in the year long process to get me where I am. As I said many times before, I'll be eternally grateful for Jacob and Emily for everything they've done. I may not have always agreed with it but I always understood its necessity. It was me who caused all the bumps and bruises on this journey. If I had just told Edward the truth from the very beginning, the majority of things that happened wouldn't have happened. Was it foolish? Yes. Do I regret it? Not for a second. If it meant ending up like this, I wouldn't take any of it back. I have everything I ever wanted. What more could I ask for?

**Alright….so…. thank you for reading. Seeing as this is my farewell** **to this story, bare with me for the length of it. Thank you all SO much for all your love and support. All the reviews, the adds to favorites and alerts, thank you. You guys are amazing and have been a great audience for my first story. It's been a great two years writing this story where people are eager to know what happens next. I know lots of you were iffy about reading a story where Alice, Rosalie, and Esme are the villains. Believe me, I was nervous to see the reactions that would get me. And I'll admit, I'm a little nervous to see what you all are going to say about the break ups. But no matter what it is, you guys are incredible. Thank you so much for everything. I don't think I've ever loved a group of people that I don't even know so freaking much. **

**Two very special thank yous must go out to my best friends. First, to my best friend in the whole wide world (you know who you are) who read the first two chapters of Isabella before it was even published and fell in love with it. It's because of her this story is even on this site. She's also the one who I complained to when having difficultly writing and always got me through it. The other goes to a fellow write on this site and one of my greatest friends, BrazilianHottie9.I thank you for your support and constant nagging to update as soon as possible. If it weren't for her, God knows how often this story would have been updated and when it would have ended. Thank you both so much. Love you girls!**

**Even though I love writing for you guys, it's going to have to take a backseat for a while. I don't know if I've mentioned before but I'm a high school senior and so I've got to focus on college stuff. Not exactly what I'd rather be doing, but it's got to be done. But I've got a few one-shots in the works, so hopefully you'll be seeing those soon. Well, I don't know how many of you have gotten down to reading this, but here's where I'll give you the last author's note for Isabella, the last thank you, but ****not**** the last time you'll be hearing from me.**

**Til next time!**


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